On Thursday, councillors from both the ruling ANC and the opposition parties in council agreed to appoint an investigator who will scrutinise all the allegations against Mea. 

The ANC Chief Whip, Zolile Mangcotywa, tells OFM News that the council took a unanimous resolution that was supported by all political parties in the council. 

Meanwhile, the DA Mangaung caucus leader in the council, Hardie Viviers, tells OFM News that the party is adamant that Mea has utterly failed the residents of Mangaung in his capacity as head of administration of the municipality.

"The DA's request was tabled 15 days late before the council today (Tursday 18 March 2021). The DA is adamant that the municipal manager and the administration have failed the residents of the metro, especially with the delivery of basic services," he adds.

Viviers adds that these allegations were tabled by findings by the Auditor-General (AG) in the 2018/19 annual report. He says Mea should be held accountable for his alleged failure to deliver the basic services to the residents of Mangaung.

"Our next step will be to convey to the ANC governing body, whom the correct independent investigator should be. If they utilise another cadre deployed investigator, all our hard work will be in vain.

"The DA will keep on fighting for proper basic services for the residents of Mangaung and will do everything in our power to steer the ANC-led government in the right direction, as we have successfully achieved today. Although we can stand up for residents in the council, we cannot guarantee that proper basic services will be delivered to our residents, as we are not the current governing party in Mangaung," he adds.

However, Mangcotywa says despite having agreed to the recommendations they are not saying that Mea is quilty: "But the investigation will test the truthfulness of allegations levelled against him by the DA."

OFM News