New Vhembe mayor ‘ousts municipal manager’

Miyelani "Mabanana" Chauke, the newly-appointed mayor of Vhembe District Municipality, has taken action to force the resignation of his municipal manager, Norman Kutama, who goes by the nickname "MM." The resignation occurred on Friday following a series of allegations of financial misconduct raised during a special council meeting on August 7th.

These allegations included irregular, wasteful, and unauthorized expenditure totaling hundreds of millions of rands. The political leadership of the council subsequently wrote a letter to the Limpopo Premier and the ANC provincial chairperson, informing them of their intention to dismiss Kutama. The allegations against Kutama include failures to complete projects, stalled bulk water projects, questionable contractor appointments, taking workers to court without council approval, and appointing service providers with expired documentation.

The EFF, led by deputy provincial chairperson Anton Mathumba, had questioned a report on irregular expenditure in June of the 2024/25 financial year. Mathumba claimed the report was tabled in August 2026, and when approved, was referred to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee for investigation. Mathumba and the EFF demanded that the meeting be postponed until the municipal manager provided all supporting documents, raising concerns about payments made to firms not properly evaluated and to two tax-non-compliant consulting companies totaling R10.2 million and R14.8 million, respectively.

Mathumba stated that after years of holding the council accountable, they had reached a breaking point and drew the line on what they deemed as enough. With Kutama's resignation, Mathumba welcomed the decision, stating it is time for a competent manager to lead the institution on behalf of the people of Venda and Limpopo.