Democratic Alliance (DA) member of the Free State Provincial Legislature, Leona Kleynhans, says Sam Makhubu was appointed as the new acting MM on Friday 23 September 2022, after the former acting MM Basie Ungerer asked to be relieved of his acting MM duties to fully concentrate on the massive job of Director: Infrastructure.

“They have now appointed a new acting Municipal Manager, who is the new Director [of Corporate Services] in the municipality – Mr Sam Makhubu.

Adverts have been placed for a Municipal Manager and one should be appointed soon. 

Kleynhans says Ungerer indicated that the reason he asked to be relieved is because he wanted to pay more attention to his commitments as the Director of Infrastructure in the municipality.

The contract for the existing MM, who is presently on special leave due to his arrest by the Hawks, will expire in November.

OFM News previously reported that according to the Free State Hawks spokesperson, Christopher Singo, the 49-year-old suspect is the third suspect in this case facing charges of fraud, corruption, uttering, forgery, and the contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act. Singo alleged that in 2020, the suspect had authorised a service provider for security services without an advertised tender. He further said that it was reported that some of the senior officials in the Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality wrote several letters to the suspect, advising him to advertise the tender for security. He failed to do so.

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Bassie was appointed as the acting Municipal Manager on 11 August 2022, following the suspension of Mothamaha.

OFM News/Mpho Mohapi