National Treasury froze R300-million meant for Mopani District Municipality after the council failed to deal adequately with unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure during Pule Shayi’s tenure as mayor.
Shayi, now Limpopo’s local government MEC overseeing the province’s 30 municipalities, disclosed the reason for the intervention while defending his promotion against claims of cadre deployment.
“There was no reference to maladministration or misappropriation of funds. The matter has been resolved,” Shayi told Sunday World.
Treasury’s intervention did not amount to a finding that Shayi had stolen or misappropriated public money. It did, however, identify failures in how Mopani investigated questionable expenditure and held officials and office-bearers accountable.
Treasury listed Mopani among municipalities guilty of “persistent and serious” non-compliance with municipal finance laws barely two months before Premier Phophi Ramathuba appointed Shayi as MEC for cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs in her September 2 cabinet reshuffle.
Treasury released the allocation after corrective processes.
DA Limpopo leader Jacques Smalle said Shayi moved from running a municipality subjected to Treasury intervention to overseeing distressed councils across Limpopo.
“It is difficult to imagine a clearer contradiction,” he said.
Shayi insists his record as mayor shows improvement from a compromised position rather than administrative failure.
The DA said Mopani received two disclaimed and three qualified audit opinions during his tenure. It did not obtain a single unqualified opinion.
Shayi said the figures conceal its progress: “The municipality has improved from disclaimer audit opinion to qualified audit opinion with fewer qualifying paragraphs for three-consecutive years.”
He listed improved creditor payments, reduced fruitless and wasteful expenditure, declining irregular expenditure and stronger procurement discipline among his administration’s achievements.
He said Mopani had gone eight years without a labour protest and had been upgraded from a level-four to a levelfive municipality.
Shayi’s defence introduces another unresolved dispute over Mopani’s finances. Reports surrounding Treasury’s intervention described the municipality as facing a R2.4-billion budget shortfall and owing hundreds of millions to water authorities.
Shayi rejected the deficit characterisation: “During our tenure, at the helm of Mopani District Municipality, there has been no deficit on the approved budget nor the annual financial statements. The municipality always approved the budget with a surplus, not a deficit.”
His answer does not reconcile the reported shortfall with the surpluses reflected in Mopani’s approved budgets and annual financial statements.
The figures could describe different measures, including the funded status of the budget, available cash, liabilities or projected revenue.
Shayi said Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality had paid R174m towards the Lepelle Northern Water account. The remaining R215.2m was historic debt covered by a repayment agreement.
The explanation confirms that a balance remains, although Shayi said it is being managed.
Ramathuba said her reshuffle followed a “rigorous assessment” of executive performance informed by residents’ lived experiences.
Shayi was not only a mayor when she promoted him. He is the ANC’s provincial deputy secretary and one of its Limpopo office-bearers.
“A provincial executive exists to serve the people of Limpopo, not to reward ANC leaders,” Smalle said. “The ANC office is not a qualification for a provincial office.”
Shayi’s senior party position coincided with his elevation to the provincial executive.
Shayi believes his experience repairing Mopani qualifies him to oversee councils. “We have worked tirelessly to turn the situation around in the Mopani District Municipality,” he said.
The Limpopo government defended Shayi’s appointment.
Spokesperson Ndavhe Ramakuela said Ramathuba had exercised her constitutional and political discretion after assessing his ability to serve.
The MEC has not disclosed the criteria used to assess him.
- National Treasury froze R300-million intended for Mopani District Municipality due to inadequate handling of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure during Pule Shayi’s mayoral tenure.
- Pule Shayi, now Limpopo’s MEC for local government, denied maladministration or misappropriation of funds and stated the matter was resolved after Treasury intervention.
- Treasury identified failures in Mopani’s investigation and accountability processes but did not accuse Shayi of stealing public money; the allocation was later released after corrective measures.
- Mopani District Municipality faced a reported R2.4-billion budget shortfall and owed hundreds of millions to water authorities, though Shayi denied any budget deficit during his tenure.
- Shayi, who is also ANC provincial deputy secretary, was promoted to Limpopo MEC after a performance assessment by Premier Phophi Ramathuba, with the appointment defended by the provincial government.
National Treasury froze R300-million meant for Mopani District Municipality after the council failed to deal adequately with unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure during Pule
“
Treasury’s intervention did not amount to a finding that
Treasury listed Mopani among municipalities guilty of “persistent and serious” non-compliance with municipal finance laws barely two months before Premier Phophi
Treasury released the allocation after corrective processes.
DA Limpopo leader Jacques Smalle said
“It is difficult to imagine a clearer contradiction,” he said.
He listed improved creditor payments, reduced fruitless and wasteful expenditure, declining irregular expenditure and stronger procurement discipline among his administration’s achievements.
He said Mopani had gone eight years without a labour protest and had been upgraded from a level-four to a levelfive municipality.
His answer does not reconcile the reported shortfall with the surpluses reflected in Mopani’s approved budgets and annual financial statements.
“A provincial executive exists to serve the people of Limpopo, not to reward ANC leaders,” Smalle said. “
Spokesperson
