Fikile Mbalula’s brother named acting premier

Jabu Mbalula, brother of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, has been appointed as the acting premier of the Free State for a month.

Mbalula’s appointment is effective from Friday, 15 November, until 15 December as premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae is reportedly on leave.

FIKILE MBALULA’S BROTHER APPOINTED ACTING PREMIER IN FREE STATE

Jabu Ntsokolo Ishmael Mbalula is familiar with the Free State provincial government as he previously served as its spokesperson. 

After the 29 May elections, he was appointed MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport in the province.

He also served as SA’s Ambassador to Romania from 2017 until his return to South Africa.  

In 2022, an investigative report into the illegal appointment of staffers in the Free State’s Mangaung Metro Municipality exposed Jabu Mbalula as one of the ghost staffers who allegedly cost the council millions in salaries every month while never reporting for a single day of work.

The Citizen reported that most ANC cadre deployments occurred after the 2021 local government elections when individuals identified as “skeletal staff” were signed up, often without appointment letters or contracts, violating the Municipal Systems Act.

According to the report, the ghost workers received a total of R2.5 million in salaries in January alone. In  March, the salary bill shot up to R9 million as the number of hired staffers increased from 125 to 165. 

Following Jabu’s appointment, the ANC in the Free State held a media briefing to defend the decision to appoint him as a member of the executive council.

FREE STATE PREMIER IN HOT WATER OVER ALLEGED CORRUPTION

Meanwhile, Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae is reportedly in hot water with the ANC in the province over corruption allegations levelled against her and and her husband Lawrence Mathae who is the speaker of council in the Mangaung municipality.

In October, Sunday World reported that a road construction and maintenance contractor, Patrick Phuti of New Beginnings Projects, claimed that his company was appointed to do work worth R269 million on a 37.4km stretch of tar road by the Department of Roads and Transport headed by Letsoha-Mathae as MEC. 

Phuti told the publication that he was “very angry” that the premier gave him a raw deal when his three-year contract for road maintenance was abruptly terminated seven months ago. 

“I bought Lawrence a Mercedes Benz V-Class 300 that’s worth more than R2 million. When things went sour, I sent my guys to their house to repossess the vehicle,” the businessman said.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the province opened a case of corruption and money laundering against Letsoha-Mathae.