Key South African city in crisis

A deepening governance crisis in the City of Matlosana has now spilled into the High Court.

It comes as civil society groups move to block what they describe as an unlawful political attempt to reinstate the municipality’s former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mercy Phetla.

This was despite her dismissal following a completed disciplinary process into allegations of fraud and corruption.

The urgent court challenge sparked ANC in North West has instructed its deployees in provincial government to invoke Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution to assume executive authority in the municipality.

Meanwhile, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa called an emergency meeting with provincial leaders to develop a mitigation plan.

Nova Matlosana In Action NPC has filed an urgent application in the North West Division of the High Court in Mahikeng, challenging a municipal council resolution adopted on 4 February 2026 which seeks to reinstate Phetla.

Nova Matlosana says it represents a broad coalition of stakeholders across the KOSH region made up of business chambers, churches, local enterprises, civil society organisations, residents and companies operating in the municipality.

According to court papers, Phetla was subjected to a disciplinary process during 2025, which concluded with a ruling issued on 30 December 2025. The presiding officer, Advocate Sethene, imposed a sanction that resulted in the termination of her employment.

However, the municipal council adopted a resolution on 4 February 2026 reinstating her, effectively reversing the disciplinary outcome.

Nova Matlosana contends the council lacked the legal authority to override a concluded disciplinary process and that the decision was taken unlawfully.

The organisation is seeking urgent interim relief to suspend the council’s resolution pending the final outcome of the case, effectively keeping the CFO dismissed until the court rules on the legality of the council’s actions.

Nova Matlosana is also asking the court to review and set aside the council decision in terms of Section 172(1)(a) of the Constitution, which empowers courts to declare unlawful conduct invalid.

Political vote triggers backlash

The court case follows a controversial council decision taken during a marathon meeting on Tuesday, 4 February 2026, where Phetla’s reinstatement was supported by a coalition of ANC factions, the EFF, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and the ACDP.

The resolution passed with 34 votes in favour and 25 against.

The motion, led by Single Whip of Council Rose Tabanchu, instructed Municipal Manager Lesego Seametso to reverse enforcement of the disciplinary findings and withdraw the termination letter issued in January.

Phetla had been dismissed on 23 January 2026 following a disciplinary inquiry into allegations of serious fraud and corruption.

The municipality did not respond to media queries by the time of publication.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has described the reinstatement as a “defiance of law” and warned that criminal charges would follow.

DA caucus leader Gerhard Strydom said the council has no jurisdiction to act as an appeal authority for disciplinary findings involving senior managers.

The DA said it would open criminal cases against councillors who supported the resolution under Section 119 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, which criminalises unlawful interference in municipal administration.

The party also accused Speaker Stella Mondlane-Ngwenya of allowing the motion to proceed despite receiving a written explanation from the presiding officer confirming that council lacked the authority to intervene.

The DA has warned that any implementation of the resolution by the municipal manager would itself be unlawful, setting the stage for a legal standoff between the council and the administration.

The “Variegated” scandal

The dispute is rooted in the “Variegated” corruption scandal that has haunted Matlosana since early 2024.

Phetla was arrested by the Hawks in January 2024 over allegations that she received a VW Amarok bakkie worth R1.4 million from service provider GMHM Construction and Projects without declaring it as a gift.

Investigations later linked Phetla and co-accused to payments exceeding R6 million to Variegated (Pty) Ltd for electrical materials. Investigators alleged the goods were never delivered, describing the transactions as “ghost deliveries”.

In late 2025, the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation order to seize luxury assets worth approximately R2.7 million allegedly linked to Phetla, including a Maserati Levante, a Range Rover and a Mercedes-Benz.

The disciplinary inquiry chaired by Advocate Sethene concluded that her actions were not administrative errors but “calculated acts designed to defraud the municipality”, upholding five charges.

This included unauthorised payments of R2.9 million for undelivered materials, exceeding delegated authority, and irregular acceptance of gratification.

Although she denied any wrongdoing, the report warned that Phetla “cannot be left anywhere near the municipality’s purse”.

ANC North West calls for Section 139 intervention

As the scandal reignites political turmoil, the ANC North West provincial leadership has now moved to escalate the matter through constitutional intervention.

In a media statement issued on 8 February 2026, the ANC said it had directed its deployees in provincial government to swiftly invoke Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution in Matlosana.

Section 139(1)(b) empowers provincial government to assume the executive obligations of a municipality that is unable or fails to fulfil its constitutional mandate.

The ANC said the intervention was necessary to restore governance and service delivery, and that the intervention team would be expected to implement the findings of an investigation report conduct “without fear or favour”.

The directive followed an engagement between the ANC caucus in Matlosana and provincial leaders at the JB Marks Municipal Chamber, and forms part of resolutions adopted at the party’s Extended Provincial Executive Committee Lekgotla.

In an interview with the SABC, ANC North West Provincial Chairperson Nono Maloyi criticised senior municipal officials who engage in wrongdoing and later blame councillors.

“There’s quite an unfortunate situation in some of our municipalities where administrators… involve themselves in wrongdoing.”

“When they are found, they then get these politicians who happen to be councillors to agree with them or condone their wrongdoing.”

“Anybody who has decided to do things which is illegal, anyone conflicted with the law, he must excuse us in order for us to focus on what people of this province have elected us to do,” the leader said.

CoGTA minister calls emergency meeting

At national level, CoGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has also intervened, calling an emergency meeting with North West provincial leadership to discuss a mitigation plan.

In a letter dated 6 February 2026, Hlabisa invited Premier Lazarus Mokgosi, MEC for Cooperative Governance Oageng Molapisi, and Provincial Treasury MEC Kenetswe Mosenogi to an urgent meeting scheduled for Sunday, 8 February 2026.

Hlabisa said the urgency was prompted by a September 2025 joint oversight visit by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on CoGTA, SCOPA, the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General, and the North West Provincial Legislature.

The oversight bodies raised concerns that Matlosana had regressed from an unqualified to a qualified audit opinion for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years.

This is while unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure increased and spending on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant remained poor.

“The leadership of Matlosana LM committed to improve performance. Regrettably… service delivery in the City of Matlosana has subsequently deteriorated,” Hlabisa wrote.