“Municipality has not determined how much I need to pay” – Dr Patrick Mothamaha on 2022 Free State high court judgment

Staff reporter

Qwaqwa – The Free State High Court judgment delivered on 28 April 2022, ordering Dr Patrick Mothamaha to pay back the money, is yet to be implemented.

MAP to accept concourt judgment and begin search for a new CFO

Judge Mareena Opperman, with Judge Pitso Molitsoane concurring, found the appointment of Dr Patrick Mothamaha to be unlawful and set it aside.

“The appointment of the second respondent as Municipal Manager (Dr Patrick Mothamaha) by the first (Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality) and fourth respondents (Council of Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality) and resultant contract in March 2020 and on a salary of R1 987 402.00 per annum, is declared to be unlawful and irregular and set aside.”

The judge did not end there. She further ruled:

“The excess in the salary earned by the second respondent and pursuant to the contract in March 2020 and the salary authorised in the relevant Regulations, for the period ending March 2020 to date, are recoverable in full.

The repayment by the second respondent (Dr Mothamaha) to be made to the first respondent (MAP LM) in full and within ninety (90) days of the date of this order.”

Dr Mothamaha was appointed on a salary package of R1,987,402 per annum, which is for Category 4, while MAP is Category 6.

This package was contrary to what the administrator tabled, which was R1,496,887.

RED – what Dr Mothamaha was paid

GREEN – what Dr Mothamaha was placed by the administrator

YELLOW – where Dr Mothamaha should have been placed

The court ruled that the correct package was R1,129,226, meaning that from the day of his appointment, Mothamaha must repay R1.6 million that he earned from 1 April 2020 until 28 April 2022, when the court put a halt to the arrangement.

Dr Patrick Mothamaha, Municipal Manager at Ngwathe Local Municipality, said MAP had not yet determined how much he needed to pay.

“The municipality has not determined how much I need to pay.

The MAP Council resolved that it first had to calculate all the monies in respect of my leave days and other outstanding amounts that were due to me.

That money was then going to be used towards offsetting what I needed to pay. Then the municipality would determine the quantum I need to pay as the balance.”

STEPUPSANEWS will send questions to MAP as we follow the money and establish how difficult it is to calculate the amount owed.

Ngwathe to face water shedding as contractor threatens to switch off 41 boreholes over payment dispute

In other news, lawyers of Basiseng Construction and Ngwathe Local Municipality will meet today to finalize 41 boreholes payment impasse as Ngwathe residents face water shedding.

Basieng threatened to shut all 41 boreholes in Ngwathe.

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