The African National Congress in the Free State says Moqhaka mayor Mantebu Mokgosi had informed them that her husband’s company was a sub-contractor in the Viljoenskroon open toilet matter

Free State ANC secretary Sibongile Besani said the provincial executive had decided to handle the matter on a political and not on an individual level.

Mokgosi and various other Free State mayors were present at the ANC media briefing in Bloemfontein. Mokgosi was not asked to answer  questions on the toilet matter.

The ANC was treating the mayors to a breakfast to congratulate them for work well done in municipalities before the May 18 local government elections.

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema previously called for heads to roll over the matter during a recent visit to the Rammulotsi township, near Viljoenskroon, in the ANC-run Moqhaka municipality.

An estimated 1600 toilets, built under a government infrastructure project, were believed to have been left unenclosed in the township.

Besani said the Free State government had since stepped in and asked three contractors to start enclosing the open toilets.

“We want this badness to go away,” he said, adding that the plan  was to close 150 open toilets a day to remove the “dent” in the ANC  name.

It was estimated that the task would take more than a month.

Asked about service delivery problems, Besani said the ANC had a  plan for local government.

Answering questions on community allegations of corrupt municipal officials and public representatives, he said the ANC would look at “putting in place cadreship and public representatives” that were more people orientated.

He said those mayors to represent the ANC after next week’s local government elections, should also know by now that they would  be held accountable by the ANC and the provincial government.

• The Mail & Guardian reported earlier this week that Mantebu Mokgosi, who became mayor in 2009, was a ward councillor at the time that the contract was awarded in 2006 to Danteb Building Construction, which the newspaper said she owns with her husband, Daniel Mokgosi.

The contract was reportedly valued at R1,6-million.

A source told the newspaper that the construction in the township of Rammolutsi was done so badly, that the municipality had to call in a second company to rebuild the toilets. However, the toilets remained unenclosed.