In an effort to strengthen and save the troubled Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) from the chaos of poor financial management system, a new acting municipal manager, Mr Nare Ngoepe, has been seconded to work in the district.

The Department of Cooperative Governance Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, in conjunction with the provincial treasury, has released Ngoepe, the director responsible for support and monitoring in the treasury,  to act as VDM municipal manager as from the first week of March. The position of municipal manager was left vacant after the axing of the controversial municipal manager, Ms  Ndanduleni Makhari, on 19 February.

It was stated that the council could not agree with her on some items in the contract. She worked for the municipality for a period of less than two months.

Mr Ngoepe was recently welcomed to the municipality during a media briefing in the boardroom. It was mentioned that Ngoepe would act until a suitable candidate for the position of municipal manager was located.

Ngoepe received his B Com (Hons) in accounting from the University of Limpopo and had once worked as an internal auditor in the Office of the Premier. He was also seconded to the Mopani District Municipality in 2015 to resolve financial management issues, such as cash flow management, stakeholder relations and many other critical matters.

“Now, that I am at a helm of the Vhembe district, my plans include the filling of the vacancies, especially the key positions such as the chief financial officer and the municipal manager. I promise to release from duty lazy officials who are not ready to deliver better services to the people,” said Ngoepe.