WHY MALKERNS RESIDENTS SNUBBED OWN MEETING

Sir,

The Malkerns Residents & Ratepayers Association (MRRA) fully supports the stated desire of the CEO/Town Clerk to work together with the local residents and ratepayers, to change the present culture and to see Malkerns develop and prosper as an agricultural town, but not under the stewardship of the current chairperson.

The MRRA, therefore, finds it necessary to exercise the right of reply in relation to the factually inaccurate  comments made by the current chairperson and published on Page 11 of the Times of Eswatini dated Wednesday, October 16, 2024, under the heading ‘Malkerns residents snub own meeting’.  The decision taken by the MRRA not to attend the Ward 1 meeting, held last week Saturday, was not taken lightly and goes beyond the fact that the current chairperson is neither a ratepayer, a property owner, nor a bona fide resident of Malkerns.  His misleading statement in the article that ‘there is no way that I cannot be a resident or a ratepayer’ needs to be challenged.  

Responsible

Any pretense at responsible local government was totally destroyed by the current chairperson at the ordinary council meeting held on August 28, 2024, at the offices of the Malkerns Town Council (MKTC). The minutes of the meeting will confirm that under the chairperson’s ‘unopposed motion’, councillors were requested ‘to stay away from people who create problems and start acting like victims’. Words which only confirm that he has neither respect for the ratepayers of Malkerns nor any trust in his fellow councillors.

The chairperson tried, unsuccessfully, to convince observers present that he had been properly elected as the representative for Ward 1 at the June 2023 local government elections (despite using his middle name to register on the voters’ roll); subsequently standing as a member of parliament in the Bhunya region (but curiously using his first name to register). Informing any councillors present and willing to listen ‘that he is currently going through a period of accusations about things he does not know and it hurts’. He demanded respect and cooperation from councillors present at the August open, even though none were allowed to seek clarification on the confused message he was seeking to get across. By continuing to actively discourage councillors from engaging with ratepayers on council business, he has only succeeded in further alienating his fellow councillors and the residents and ratepayers of Malkerns.
The MRRA found it necessary to write to the principal secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development as early as July 3, 2024, seeking his immediate removal from office, based on credible evidence received and his permanent exclusion as an elected town councillor. In the opinion of the MRRA, there has to be an option for the ministry to remove a town councillor who is clearly not performing.

Elected

This is an individual who was only elected to the position of chairperson through obvious tactical voting and the unhealthy influence he continues to exert over two of  the newly- elected and totally ineffective councillors; and whose tenure in office has been the subject of controversy and mutual mistrust from day one. Rather than address the concerns of the residents and ratepayers, he chose, instead, to point the finger at his fellow councillors, by again using the chairperson’s ‘unopposed motion’ to imply a breach of council standing orders, through the apparent leaking of confidential information to the media.

In so doing, he has only succeeded in creating a very toxic working environment between himself, his fellow councillors and the senior management team. He has done this by exercising double standards by giving his own interview to the media, in response to an article entitled ‘Malkerns ratepayers want mayor out’. Always looking for an opportunity to justify his election as a town councillor, while at the same time trying to suggest that the properly constituted MRRA was ‘political’.

Leak

Again using the media as the vehicle, he has allegedly leaked confidential information discussed in committee, under an article entitled “Malkerns councillors divided over new CEO”.  He is further alleging that the MKTC is supposedly divided over the recent appointment of the new CEO/Town Clerk. Also using the media to totally disrespect the previous mayor, by seeking to suggest in the same article, that the previous mayor had unduly influenced the appointment of the new CEO/Town Clerk. Further, he has chosen to totally disrespect the previous mayor by insisting on a vote of all councillors when he was vice chairperson, to decide whether a local restaurant business should be allowed to continue operating, though non-compliant with the public health regulations and liquor licensing laws.

The end goal is to exert his unhealthy influence over council proceedings.Council standing orders clearly state that the CEO/town clerk and the chairperson are the only recognised official channels of communication between the town council and the media. As the CEO/town clerk is highly unlikely to criticise his own recent appointment, you are invited to draw your own conclusions, despite the chairperson’s unconvincing attempts to blame others for the leak.

Trip

His recent trip to Addis Ababa, presumably at the ratepayers’ expense, dependent on a written policy being in place on the rules governing external foreign travel, which at the time of travel did not exist. The chairperson is  seemingly more interested in the perks of the job, such as external travel and wasting ratepayers’ money on expensive three day luxury retreats out of area, rather than using his position to ensure ratepayers’ money is used wisely in improving the quality of life for all the local residents. A chairperson too easily distracted during meetings by messages on his cell phone or on his private tablet.

So you might have thought that the current chairperson would have exercised a greater degree of caution in ensuring that the ‘cash for motions’ allegations currently being made against him have no substance. Instead, at the September monthly meeting it was observed that he chose to hand out expensive presents to the other councillors (hopefully not at the ratepayers’ expense) following his recent trip to Addis Ababa. He might, therefore, do well to refresh his memory on Section 122(2) of the Urban Government Act No. 8 of 1969 as it defines the offence of bribery. You might have thought that having been reported to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for alleged extortion, corruption and election fraud, a more astute chairperson might have chosen to be more careful.

A chairperson who clearly does not understand or has chosen to deliberately ignore council standing orders. Had he done so, he might have reflected on his flawed decision at the August meeting of the MKTC, seemingly without any prior consultation with the CEO/town clerk. Deciding, instead, to totally ignore laid-down council standing orders as to when a meeting can go in committee; and deciding at the very last minute, to remove an item of public interest from the open agenda to in committee under ‘Disclosure of Information’. This did not sit well with those observers present and the meeting, curiously, was not minuted.

Responsibility

Council standing orders make it very clear that responsibility rests with the CEO/town clerk and not the chairperson to summon a special meeting, having given the appropriate notice of any special meeting which is to be held in committee. Further evidence of abuse of his position and a total lack of any real empathy with the local residents and ratepayers, from a chairperson whose main homestead has never been in the Malkerns region.

He was suspended as a sitting councillor from two sessions of the previous town council, for a breach of council standing orders; for allegedly seeking to obtain a financial advantage from a local procurement contract involving the cutting down of trees. All very valid reasons for members of the MRRA to ‘snub’ his own ward meeting. Transparent and accountable local government needs to be seen to have returned to the agricultural town of Malkerns before any trust can return. The recent Ward 1 meeting which no resident or ratepayer attended, including those who apparently voted for him, will go down as a very black day for local democracy. This only reinforces the need for meaningful change in local government before it is too late.  

For and behalf of the members of the Malkerns Residents & Ratepayers Association (MRRA)  

RIGHT TO REPLY

Sir,

Firstly, maybe I can start by clarifying that the Malkerns Town Council has never met with the so-called MRRA.  By so saying, I mean we have neither met with their leadership structure nor heard of their AGM in Malkerns  or wherever in the country. We only know that there is a WhatsApp group under that brand name. I believe that an association should be registered under the Registry of Companies as required by the laws of the Government of Eswatini. Maybe it is one of the reasons why Mr. Mike opted to tarnish my name and image of the town through media platforms (Observer and Times), under the guise that he is representing MRRA, something that is neither here nor there.

Mr Mike is a senior citizen whom I respect and also a resident of Malkerns, but not a property owner or a ratepayer. He is a tenant to one of our councillors. He is not a politician and he must not enter into the political arena. How come the so-called MRRA had never had a problem with me when I was an ordinary councillor and all was good when I later became a deputy mayor? The problem started when I was voted in to be the chairperson of the town council, while his favourite councillor lost during the election. Currently, Malkerns Town Council is in the process of engaging all the six Wards on the basis that we will be going for our budget next week and all the other five wards had a poor turnout, including mine and the reason was that people received invites at short notice.

Lastly may I emphasise that I was voted for by majority of people of Malkèrns - residents and property owners-to be their Ward 1 councillor, among five candidates who  were vying for the same position.  I was, thereafter, voted by the councillors to be their chairperson and there was never any dispute.

Malkerns Town Council Chairperson
Bongani Mabuza

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