Madibeng mayor Douglas Maimane claims he did not receive a letter that rejected the appointment of municipal manager Quiet Kgatla.
This comes after North West co-operative governance MEC Oageng Molapisi indicated that he sent a letter to Maimane in July , in which he rejected Kgatla's appointment.
However, in a statement issued by Maimane's office, the mayor denied Molapisi's claim that the letter was sent to him in July.
Molapisi's letter raised concerns about the appointment of Kgatla, whom he stated did not have the minimum requirements for the position, declaring his appointment unlawful.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson Thabo Skhosana and chief of staff Senzo Ncongolo, Maimane accused Molapisi of failing to respond to his request for concurrence of Kgatla's appointment for nearly nine months.
TimesLIVE Premium reported that Molapisi claimed he was awaiting a response after making the mayor aware in July that he did not support Kgatla’s appointment, which happened late last year.
Molapisi’s spokesperson Lerato Gambu told TimesLIVE Premium at the time that Maimane had acknowledged receipt of the MEC’s letter.
Maimaine was now arguing that he did not receive the letter in July but in September and after enquiring about the concurrence. According to Maimane's statement, he had moved forward with the appointment without receiving the required concurrence from the MEC, as prescribed by section 54A of the municipal appointment processes.
During public hearings convened by the department of Cogta in Mahikeng, the MEC publicly alleged that a concurrence letter had been issued to the office of the mayor in July 2025. The executive mayor, during the same proceedings, placed it on record that no such correspondence had ever been received by the municipality
— Statement from office of Madibeng mayor Douglas Maimane
“The executive mayor submitted the appointment file to the MEC's office on December 13 2024, for concurrence and formally addressed correspondence to the MEC on September 3 2025, but we did not receive responses until September 4 2025,” the statement read.
The municipality stated further it was only on September 4 that they learnt from Molapisi that Kgatla's appointment was declined, as it “was the first ever written response” they have received.
“During public hearings convened by the department of Cogta in Mahikeng, the MEC publicly alleged that a concurrence letter had been issued to the office of the mayor in July 2025. The executive mayor, during the same proceedings, placed it on record that no such correspondence had ever been received by the municipality,” the statement stated.
Maimane's office further stated it will table the responses of the MEC before council for deliberations on the correspondence that they received and any resolution adopted will be communicated thereafter.
TimesLIVE Premium approached Molapisi's office about the claims from Maimane in which he stops short of accusing the MEC of lying.
However, Gambu said the MEC will “not be discussing the matter further”. Though refusing to comment on claims contained in Maimane's letter, Gambu said the crux of the matter was “the veracity of the existing concurrence by the MEC”. Gambu denied that the MEC has misrepresented facts as per claims in Maimane's statement.
Molapisi's letter, which TimesLIVE Premium has seen, stated that:
- Kgatla's appointment was unlawful;
- four other qualifying candidates were not shortlisted;
- Kgatla, a qualified chartered accountant, did not have the prescribed qualifications as he did not have a bachelor’s degree in public administration or the equivalent;
- there was no proof that applicants had undergone screening and security checks before interviews that led to claims of favouritism, unfairness and nepotism; and
- though council had resolved to have five members on the interviewing panel, scoring was done by only two members.
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