Outrage after ANC's Lerato Maloka is reinstated as Sedibeng mayor

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The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is “deeply concerned” that the very same rot that ruined the Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng will continue after African National Congress (ANC) councillor Lerato Maloka was re-elected as mayor.�

Maloka was elected mayor during a special council sitting on Tuesday, 18 February. Her reinstatement comes weeks after she was ousted via a DA-sponsored motion of no confidence on 29 January. A total of 26 councillors voted in favor, while 21 voted against.

ANC’S LERATO MALOKA RE-ELECTED AS SEDIBENG MAYOR�

On Tuesday, Maloka was up against DA councillor Prudence Hlanyane whom the party nominated as mayoral candidate.

The results of the election were as follows:

ANC’s Lerato Maloka – 25 votes
DA’s Prudence Hlanyane – 24 votes

ANC councillor Lerato Maloka has been reinstated as the mayor of the Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng. Image: X/NHC South Africa

DA caucus leader in Sedibeng, Sibusiso Dyonase said the re-election of Maloka as executive mayor is a stinging indictment against the Sedibeng councillors who voted for more of the same. It was time for change, but the councillors put the ANC ahead of the people.

“Our fight for Sedibeng and its residents goes on, and the DA will continue to fight for and enforce principles of good governance and accountability, and we will hold this failure of a District Mayor to account,” Dyonase said.�

Likewise, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng also expressed its disappointment over the re-election of Lerato Maloka.�

The party said the decision to reinstate Maloka is an insult to the people of Sedibeng whom the party says have endured years without basic services such as clean drinking water, electricity, waste collection and safety.�

“By renominating a person who has overseen the decline of the municipality and the mismanagement of its finances, the ANC has once again demonstrated its total disregard for the residents of Sedibeng. Communities continue to suffer without water, electricity, proper roads, waste collections, and security, as crime escalates even within clinics and hospitals,” the party said.�

WHY WAS SHE OUSTED IN THE FIRST PLACE?�

The South African previously reported that the motion against Maloka was brought in 2024, following her failure to, amongst other things, implement the financial recovery plan, as was required of her by the MEC of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, leaving the municipality’s finances in limbo.�

The DA said this, along with a hefty increase in fruitless, wasteful, and irregular expenditures, unfunded budgets, and the municipality’s reaching a point where 75% of its finances are being spent on salaries, severely impacting service delivery, made her exit today a foregone conclusion.

In addition, Maloka allegedly refused to use a Mercedes-Benz GLB provided to her for an entire year. The Blue Party said when she was finally forced to use it by the council, the car developed mechanical problems – technicians found that brown sugar had been poured into the engine.