By Matshediso Selebeleng

Provincial Legislature Ad Hoc Committee set to submit extension request as new witnesses emerge and thus required to testify in probe into Premier’s improper conduct allegation

Groep’s wild allegations dismissed as pure gossip and hearsay, while Mokgosi is focused on amplifying service delivery to struggling municipalities

The North West Legislature Ad Hoc committee probe into allegations of improper conduct levelled against Premier Lazarus Mokgosi will continue beyond the 27 November 2025 deadline, with a pending extension request by the committee set to be submitted. Established by the North West Legislature to investigate Naledi Local Municipality Mayor John Groep’s allegations against the premier, the committee’s extension request comes because of the emergence of more witnesses that are expected to give testimony in front of the committee. Committee spokesperson, Vuyisile Ngesi, tells Journal News that there are additional witnesses that were not initially expected to appear in front of the committee, but were later identified and drawn into the proceeding through recent testimonies from the four witnesses that have already appeared before the committee. “According to the terms of reference of the Ad hoc committee - in line with the standing rule 187 of the legislature, not just the provincial legislature, the Ad Hoc committee is empowered to summon witnesses for testimony. “The evidence leaders interacted with identified witnesses, and the witnesses that were able to deposit their testimony were the ones that were identified as the complainants – which is Groep and other identified and implicated parties,” he said. Groep’s allegations against Mokgosi broke ground during the oversight visit of Parliament’s Joint Portfolio Committees to the various municipalities in the province. He alleged that Mokgosi had instructed a former employee of the municipality to alter a report regarding the appointment of Modisenyane Segapo as their Municipal Manager. On Monday, 24 November 2025, Groep faced thorough interrogation by the committee and made provision of evidence that supported his allegations. He further pointed out that some documents even had vivid signs of having been tampered with. “Mr Segapo did not have the required qualification, but from the letter we received from the MEC confirmed that his qualifications, the municipal finance development program, and the compliance qualifications are consistent with annexure B to the regulations, five years’ experience at a senior management level, more than five years’ experience senior management experience, Mr Segapo is complaint,” he told the committee. Groep added that the letter submitted to the office of former Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Nono Maloyi, is riddled with inconsistencies and was created to deliberately cast doubt on the process that was followed. On the contrary, Thabo Appolus, the fourth witness who appeared in front of the committee yesterday, rebutted Groep’s allegation further dismissing his allegations as gossip. “The committee is here to investigate men’s gossip (sic). I had thought that it was women who were often accused of gossip, but I was wrong … men gossip too, and so does Groep. He added: “He involves himself in other men’s business and reveals them with confidence as though it were his own articulation, and as though he was present. That is why he came here as a witness.” Appolus further reminded the committee that the chairperson, Nathan Oliphant, asked Groep if his evidence was hearsay, to which Groep dubiously replied with an emphatic ‘yes’. Despite the allegations Mokgosi maintained his focus on actively pushing the service delivery programme around the province called Thuntsa Lerole. The programme is aimed at ensuring that the communities receive all services due to them from the provincial government. One of the areas that was targeted was the Tswaing Local Municipality, which forms part of the Ngaka Modiri Molema District. Tswaing, which continues to face serious service delivery challenges, was identified as one of 10 local municipalities that were prioritised for the more intense fifth phase of this accelerated service delivery programme. Part of the ongoing endeavour to improve the state of local road infrastructure, the provincial government embarked on pothole patching from Delareyville to Ottosdal, and blading was conducted in some of the few identified internal roads across the local municipality.