To honor Nelson Mandela’s legacy by dedicating 67 minutes (representing his 67 years of public service), Mercy Phetla Foundation built and donated a two-room house, donating essential items, repairing facilities, and uplifting older persons and community in Khuma township near Stilfontein, in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality on 18 July 2025. Armed with brushes, ladders and paint, foundation members and volunteers divided themselves into teams to transform the house and yard of 85-year-old grandmother Mme Betty and young person Brenda. The foundation donated food parcels and hosted lunch for community members who were present. “We connected sanitation services for Mme Betty, who turned 85 years on the 7 June. She has been struggling with sanitation issues for over 30 years. While we were assisting her, we discovered that her neighbor, Brenda also lacked proper sanitation facilities and was living in a shack. To support these two residents as part of our 67-minute initiative, which aims to honour the legacy of Nelson Mandela – who was passionate about eradicating shacks – we built Brenda a two-bedroom house,” said Mercy Phetla.
Phetla indicated that Mme Betty’s house had a roof that was leaking.”We replaced her roof, and painted her house. Additionally, we distributed food parcels to community members in the ward,” Phetla said. Phetla said despite the foundation being registered in May 2025, they have been giving back to the community of North West province using Mercy Outreach. “Although the foundation was officially registered in May of this year, we have been engaged in charity work for quite some time. In Schweizer-Reneke, we operate under the name ‘Mercy Outreach’. “While Mercy Phetla Foundation has many sponsors and funders, we have not yet established support in this area. However, where I come from in Limpopo and Gauteng, we are already receiving funding.” She has also indicated that some of her sponsors are also originating from Gauteng and Limpopo provinces.
In building the house for Brenda, Serame Construction from Schweizer-Reneke from Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati region asisted the foundation. As the chief financial officer (CFO) of a struggling municipality, City of Matlosana in the North West, Phetla was criticised for purchasing a black Volkswagen Amarok Ventura Evolution V6 3.0L, valued at over R1.2 million. Maklera Magazine reported that the purchase comes amid growing public frustration over Matlosana’s crumbling infrastructure, inconsistent water supply, and pothole-riddled roads.
“With all the issues of leadership and controversy surrounding the municipality yet a Top Official rolls up in a V6 bakkie worth over a million rand, despite many unanswered questions about investigations and allegations surrounding Top Officials?” City Report understands that a CFO of a municipality can purchase a vehicle using a car allowance, but this is subject to specific policies and regulations. These allowances are typically provided to employees whose job duties require them to use their personal vehicles for official municipal business, and the purchase must adhere to the municipality’s car allowance policy and relevant legislation like the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
The process must be transparent, fair, and accountable, with proper reporting to the Council. In response to this question, Mercy confirmed that she did not use the municipal allowance to purchase the said vehicle. “Imagine that! It seems that with my hard-earned money, I’m unable to do anything meaningful. Because I donated a house, they now expect me take my salary and also address the issues of sewer spills and crumbling infrastructure. That’s their claim, but I disagree.
“Yes, I can confirm that I did purchase a new car, and it is finannced and I trade-in my Tiguan. As someone who drives extensively and travels frequently, I found that my Tiguan, which was less than a year old and already had approximately 75,000 kilometres, keeping it didn’t make sense. I have a strong preference for the Amarok, which aligns more closely with my requirements.
Responding to the question of ongoing court cases that are sitting at the Specialised Commercial Crime Court sitting in Klerksdorp, corruption-accused Phetla signaled that she’s ready for her trial and pretrial.
Phetla and co-accused are facing charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering. The two matters were postponed to 12 September and 26 August 2025, for pretrial and trial.
The trio who were arrested on Sunday, 18 May 2025 reappeared on 17 July for a matter linked to a service provider Variegated (Pty) LTD. The matter involving GMHM Construction and Projects is expected to sit in court on 26-27 August for trial.
“I’m glad you understand that, according to the Constitution, you are considered innocent until proven guilty. Yes, I am ready for the next steps. I have actually requested a pretrial for the last case. Our trial for the GMH case, involving 1.4 million regarding the Amarok, starts on 26/27 August. As for the other case, we set a pretrial recently. It was scheduled for 17 July but was postponed to 12 September because the State is amending the charge sheet regarding another individual involved.”
