By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The City of Matlosana Local Municipality (Klerksdorp) has officially dismissed the corruption-accused Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mercy Phetla.
A council sitting that was convened yesterday, 22 January 2026, to deliberate a disciplinary report that recommended Phetla’s immediate dismissal degenerated into chaos.
The sitting failed to reach a quorum due to African National Congress (ANC) council members staging walkouts, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) accused the City’s Executive Mayor and Speaker, Stella Mondlane-Ngwenya, of deliberately withholding the original report from the council’s agenda.
Mondlane-Ngwenya stated that the postponement was crucial as the Municipal Manager was not present, and a legal team had to be available to reveal the findings against Phetla.
Fullview understands that the walkouts were staged to protect Phetla from being held to account for the allegations she is facing.
However, the dismissal follows a disciplinary inquiry that found Phetla guilty on all five charges of gross misconduct, dishonesty, and dereliction of duty.
According to the DA, the termination letter was issued administratively after a Council meeting convened on 22 January descended into disarray.
DA Caucus Leader Gerhard Strydom claimed that a faction of the ANC “attempted to protect the CFO from accountability.”
They argued that the Council had not approved certain charges and demanded the Presiding Officer appear before them to explain the outcome, a move the DA described as an attempt “to turn Council into an unlawful appeal body.”
When the opposition insisted that the Council had “no authority to interfere with the process,” the Speaker abruptly closed the meeting while proposals were still on the table.
The termination concludes a disciplinary process that delivered a scathing verdict on Phetla’s tenure.
The inquiry found that her actions were “calculated act[s] designed to defraud the municipality” rather than mere negligence.
Matlosana Municipality paid a service provider, Variegated (Pty) Ltd, over R6m for services that were never rendered.
Further investigations uncovered that from the amount paid to Variegated by the municipality, over R4m was transferred to a vehicle dealership for the purchase of three luxury vehicles – a Porsche valued at R2.3m, a Maserati valued at R1.4m, and a R1m Range Rover.
The municipality, which is under mandatory intervention according to the Constitution to stabilise and restore its financial health, suspended Phetla last year after she was charged with corruption and fraud.
This is not the first time Phetla has found herself in trouble as a CFO. She was previously CFO at Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, but was fired a year ago on allegations that she benefitted from irregular payments over which she had control as CFO. Another accusation against Phetla is that she paid R20 million in 24 hours to a small number of creditors.