New mayor of Ditsobotla resigns hours after being elected

Patriotic Alliance’s Elizabeth Lethoko resigned as the mayor of Ditsobotla local municipality a few hours after she was elected in a council sitting on Monday.

Lethoko tendered her resignation letter to the newly elected speaker Fikile Jakeni. In a statement released on Monday, the PA said it is in full support of Lethoko’s decision to resign. 

“It would be unconscionable of her to have continued in this role following display of blatant corruption in council today [Monday]. She could not be complicit with such behaviour, nor be asked to answer for it,’’ said the PA in a statement.

In her letter, Lethoko said her resignation comes after the ANC “surprisingly’’ tabled a motion to have the administrator be appointed as municipal manager.

“As you well know, following conclusion of all items on the agenda, a surprise matter was tabled — that of appointing administrator as the municipal manager. At no point did the ANC — your party — raise this important matter with me or the Patriotic Alliance’s president, Gayton McKenzie, who was present all day in the Ditsobotla council for such important coalition discussions,’’ said Lethoko.

“The manner in which this was performed was duplicitous in the extreme and was clearly intended to sidestep proper council procedures... My party the Patriotic Alliance will not be associated with underhanded (sic) tactics, which one can only presume are intended to cover up corruption in Ditsobotla…,’’ said Lethoko.

Meanwhile, Jento Nkashe of the Forum for Service Delivery was elected as chief whip of Ditsobotla.

The council sitting on Monday was the first by the ailing municipality since the December by-elections.

kokam@sowetan.co.za