The ANC in the Free State intends on disciplining members who have been underperforming in their local government roles following an oversight visit by MPs last week.
The party’s Free State Provincial Working Committee (PWC) is on Thursday holding an urgent meeting to look into issues raised by Parliament’s Portfolio Committees on Cooperative Governance and Finance.
ANC Free State spokesperson Thabo Meeko blamed the widespread discord in municipalities on infighting among councillors for the lack of service delivery and poor audit outcomes.
Auditor General report
“The portfolio committee came. And I will be very honest with you, it went a little bit deeper in terms of the issues of the Auditor General report. The urgent PWC is called against that background. To say that now that there are these things we know, what type of decisions have to be taken to put the nail in the coffin?
“The special meeting is to respond to this unfortunate picture, which arose from the portfolio committee meeting. We are so disappointed in how the ANC deployees have been dealing with issues,” he said.
The Free State province has been flagged by the Auditor General as one of South Africa’s worst performing regions.
One of the most troubled municipalities, Nala Local Municipality, was singled out for its instability. The municipality was found operating with two chief financial officers and two speakers simultaneously. This administrative chaos led to community unrest and recurring service delivery protests.
Inflated salaries for cronies
It is also alleged that politically connected individuals receive inflated salaries through the EPWP programme in the Matjhabeng Municipality. Minister of Public Works Dean Macpherson on Tuesday announced that his department would be halting funding of the programme at the municipality. This is pending investigations.
Meeko mentions that the poor performance of the ANC-run municipalities poses a threat to the party’s electoral fate at the 2026 polls. He mentions that the province will have to accelerate its oversight on municipalities even if it means that “heads must roll”.
“If people are not getting services, how do we expect them to vote ANC back to power? We must earn leadership. If people are messing up it will be up to the ANC to be decisive. So that we stabilise municipalities,” he lamented.
During the two-day visit, the cooperative governance committee, led by chairperson Zweli Mkhize, was clear that there will be a no-tolerance approach towards any malfeasance in government institutions. The committee is also piloting a new joint oversight model in the Free State.
