Council unhappy with Town Clerk
Onalenna Kelebeile | Friday May 30, 2014 16:26
The Selebi-Phikwe Town Council civic leaders on Wednesday accused Mojalemotho of ordering them around, saying his role was to advise them.
This was followed by a debate on whether the council session could proceed in the absence of Mojalemotho.
Others were of the view that the session could go ahead to show that they can proceed with the council business without the Town Clerk.
Mayor Tebogo Matlhogonolo promised councillors that he would lodge a complaint with Mojalemotho on their behalf but said councillors should appoint one among them to accompany him.
The council session was initially scheduled to end last Friday but it dragged on up to Tuesday contrary to Mojalemotho’s advice.
He had said that he, his deputies and other heads of departments would not be available for the Wednesday sitting as they had an urgent budget meeting as well as physical planning board sitting that they had to attend.
Mojalemotho advised councillors, in vain, that the session would encroach on other urgent businesses if it was left to proceed beyond Monday. However councillors argued that no business could stop the full council meetings and that any other meeting could be held elsewhere. The issue was debated at length.
As a result none of the council officials were available for the Wednesday session, but the council attorney Phillip Mokone and Nathaniel Maphotho were assigned to act on their behalf. This seemed unacceptable to the civil leaders.
Councillors’ arguments later switched to whether it was procedural for the full council session to have proceeded while the leadership forum and the consultative forum had not sat.
Councillor Lekang Mukokomani argued that the two forums should sit before any full council meeting otherwise it would be a violation of standing orders.
“How can the local authority enforce laws on other people while it violates its own laws?” he said.
He said if the two forums did not convene before the council session then the sitting was unlawful. He asked that another full council meeting that will comply with the standing orders should be scheduled.
However, the majority of councillors said the session must continue.
Attorney Mokone advised that meeting of a consultative forum does not preclude the holding of a full council meeting.
“People participating in that forum are the ones who make final decisions in council. It basically does not mean that the full council session cannot convene without the forums having sat,” he said.