ActionSA in the Free State has called for Matjhabeng municipality to immediately be placed under administration following allegations of corruption and mismanagement crisis.
Patricia Kopane, ActionSA Free State chairperson, also demands a comprehensive forensic audit of Matjhabeng’s financial transactions, tenders, and contracts.
She said Matjhabeng’s conduct has stripped residents of dignity, safety, and hope.
Kopane said the municipality, which includes the towns of Welkom, Allanridge, Virginia, and Odendaalsrus, has collapsed due to years of incompetence and political patronage.
Owes water, electricity R5bn
“Matjhabeng owes Eskom and Bloem Water R5-billion each. This is affecting the municipality’s ability to provide even the most basic services. It’s vehicle fleet has been attached over unpaid debts of more than R200-million. And it left the entire communities stranded without refuse removal or maintenance services.
“Residents in areas like Allanridge live in homes surrounded by raw sewage. Children are playing in contaminated streets. This is not only a public health hazard, it is an affront to human dignity,” said Kopane.
She also welcomed the recent suspension of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) funding to the municipality announced by Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson.
Kopane said the suspension of funds was long overdue. And it is a necessary message that national resources should not be sent to municipalities, where accountability is absent and corruption runs unchecked.
She criticised the provincial government for failing to act on earlier warnings. The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) wrote to former Free State Premier Mxolisi Dukwana back in October 2023 over the crisis.
Provincial government slacking
The NCOP instructed him to place the municipality under administration, but this has not been done.
“Nearly two years later, that instruction remains ignored. The provincial government’s failure to act has allowed the crisis to worsen. It is deepening the suffering of residents and further eroding trust in local government,” said Kopane.
Kopane said the a qualified and independent administrator should be appointed. And public transparency about how billions of rands in municipal debt will be recovered and measures for future accountability implemented.
“This municipality cannot continue to operate as a case study in failure. The people of Matjhabeng deserve working taps, functioning sewage systems, and refuse collection they can depend on,” said Kopane.
