A Matatiele Local Municipality councillor is facing questions over his attendance after allegedly missing six consecutive council meetings while continuing to receive his councillor remuneration.
Ward 21 councillor Thandanani Mantshule, an African National Congress (ANC) deployee, attended only one council meeting this year, according to a council attendance register seen by The Informer.
The register indicates that Mantshule attended the council sitting held on 13 January but was absent from the following six council meetings.
His prolonged absence has raised questions about whether he has complied with the legal and ethical obligations attached to his position as an elected public representative.
The Code of Conduct for Councillors contained in Schedule 1 of the Municipal Systems Act, 32 of 2000, together with provisions governing municipal councils, requires councillors to attend council and committee meetings unless they have a legitimate reason or have been formally excused.
The legislation provides for consequences where a councillor fails to attend three or more consecutive meetings without permission or a valid excuse. Such conduct can trigger an investigation and possible removal from office.
The Speaker of Matatiele Local Municipality, Cllr Nonzwakazi Ngwanya, is responsible for dealing with alleged breaches of the councillors’ Code of Conduct.
However, The Informer could not establish whether the Speaker has launched an investigation or taken any action against Mantshule.
Questions were sent to Ngwanya seeking clarity on whether the councillor had been formally excused from the meetings, whether an investigation had been opened and whether any disciplinary process was underway. No response had been received by the time of publication.
Mantshule referred all questions to the Speaker.
Despite the questions surrounding his attendance, Mantshule remains on the ANC’s list of ward candidates submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for the upcoming local government elections.
If the ANC retains Ward 21 after the 4 November elections, Mantshule could return to the Matatiele council for another term.
ANC Alfred Nzo Regional Secretary Polelo Mohale confirmed that Mantshule is on the party’s submitted ward candidate list.
Mohale said Mantshule’s inclusion followed the ANC’s internal candidate nomination process and that the party could not interfere with the separate electoral process once the list had been submitted to the IEC.
“It therefore means as ANC we cannot interfere with the separate process,” said Mohale.
He said the ANC had, however, instructed its chief whips to evaluate the performance of councillors who have served from 2021 to 2026.
“We have requested all the chief whips of the ANC to do an evaluation of their councillors from 2021 to 2026. A report that is going to come after that is going to give us a way forward to deal with issues of such misconduct that include failure to attend council meetings,” said Mohale.
The controversy now places the spotlight on both Mantshule’s attendance record and the responsibility of the municipal Speaker to determine whether his repeated absences constitute a breach of the councillors’ Code of Conduct.
The Informer will continue to seek comment from the Speaker and report on any action taken.
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