The unlawful appointment of a Limpopo government official implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal and another who has a criminal record for fraud, are expected to test President Cyril Ramaphosa's "renewal" project ahead of his visit to the province on Friday.

Ramaphosa will host the presidential imbizo – or community gathering – in Limpopo amid a scenario in which provincial government officials are blatantly ignoring Cogta MEC Basikopo Makamu about the reversal of two appointments he did not concur with, making them invalid in line with the Municipal Systems Amendment Act.

The appointment of Morris Maluleke as municipal manager at the Mogalakwena Local Municipality was ruled "unlawful" by the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane in September last year, but Maluleke is still in the post. Mogalakwena is an ANC-led municipality.

News24 has seen a report dated May 2023 by the Limpopo ANC provincial executive committee, which states that the municipality spent more than R20-million in legal fees trying to overturn the High Court's judgment.

The party conceded that the money could have been used to deal with "service delivery issues", including "sewer spillage, water provision and [the] patching of potholes".

Spokesperson Jimmy Machaka authored the Limpopo ANC report. Machaka sits on the provincial executive committee.

Speaking to News24 on behalf of the Limpopo ANC, Machaka confirmed authoring the May report and said the party "supported the appointment of Maluleke". He added that it would allow Mogalakwena "time and space" to deal with the court matter. 

"We are worried about the amounts [spent], but it is something that is out of our control," Machaka said.

The next court date for Mogalakwena's leave to appeal application is 4 August.

But sources in Limpopo said the municipality would ask for another postponement as part of an alleged delay tactic to stall the removal of Maluleke as the municipal manager.

"They are abusing municipal funds because they know they will get away with it. There is no hope of the High Court's decision being overturned, and Maluleke knows this," said one source, who asked to remain anonymous.

VBS scandal and criminal records

According to a national government warning letter dated April 2022, which News24 has seen, Maluleke deposited R50 million into the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank in 2018 while he was the chief financial officer of the Madibeng Local Municipality in the North West.

It is against the Municipal Finance Management Act for municipalities to deposit money into mutual banks.

Mbulelo Sigaba, the acting director-general of institutional development in the national co-operative governance department, warned the Mogalakwena council in his April 2022 letter that Maluleke, although he resigned before he was disciplined, had a tainted past related to VBS.

Only R20-million of Madibeng's money was recovered, Sigaba said.

Sigaba's letter read, "Although Mr Maluleke does not appear in the record of dismissed staff, the [Mogalakwena] municipality's attention is drawn to the fact that, while acting as chief financial officer and municipal manager, respectively, at Madibeng Local Municipality, the municipality was allegedly implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank investment."

In May, Mogalakwena, according to a document authored by MEC Makamu, appointed Kulungwana Ngomana as its chief financial officer despite a 2017 fraud conviction.

Makamu, in a document dated 18 May 2023, wrote that the Municipal Finance Management Act stipulated that anyone found guilty of corruption or fraud should serve a 10-year cooling period "before a person may be redeployed in a municipality". 

"The State Security [Agency] report indicates that the preferred incumbent has committed fraud…The municipality is requested to comply with all legislative requirements pertaining to the appointment of senior managers," Makamu wrote. 

His document was addressed to Mogalakwena Mayor Ngoako Taueatsoala, who, along with Maluleke, ignored Makamu's directives. 

Makamu's spokesperson, Hitekani Magwedze, said the MEC's responsibility in preventing the appointment of senior managers who have criminal records was to "oversee, guide and enforce". 

Magwedze added, "The process to ensure that the guidance provided by the MEC in the responses to the municipality is currently under way, and there is hope that the matter will not reach a level where enforcement is required."

On the ongoing R20-million court challenge to overturn the ruling of Maluleke's unlawful appointment, Magwedze said: "The MEC maintains that it is not his belief that organs of state should take each other to court." 

Magwedze added, however, that Makamu believed matters should be resolved "using the law as an instrument". 

Mogalakwena spokesperson Malesela Selokela, responding on behalf of the mayor and Maluleke, denied that Ngomana had a criminal record. Makamu stated that the vetting process had picked up a fraud criminal conviction. 

Selokela said Ngomana was appointed as a chief financial officer by the council "based on extensive experience, skills and expertise in local government". 

"It is wrong to conclude that Mr Ngomana has been convicted of fraud," Selokela asserted, adding that Mogalakwena had done its vetting, and presented its findings to Makamu. 

Selokela did not answer questions about the more than R20-million in legal fees spent in defending Maluleke or whether the municipality was engaged in delaying tactics. 

Ramaphosa's renewal project

Ramaphosa is expected to arrive in Limpopo on Friday under the theme: "Leave no one behind."

In March, the president said the ANC – of which he is also the leader – had "renewal" as its "first priority" for this year.

According to resolutions the ANC took at its national conference last December, this renewal included disassociating the party from government officials tainted by corruption and other serious criminal allegations. 

Responding to News24's questions on whether the apparent shenanigans in Limpopo aligned with Ramaphosa's renewal stance ahead of his provincial visit, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: "The president has not been briefed on the matter that you reference. If it's still an issue the province is attending [to], we should leave it to the province to handle."