Free State premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae is under fire from opposition political parties, who have reacted to the ongoing service delivery crisis in the province after the Mangaung Metro Municipality’s power utility, Centlec, took drastic measures by disconnecting electricity to numerous state buildings due to debt exceeding R1-billion.
The move has disrupted government operations across the Mangaung area, affecting departments and state-owned entities, including the OR Tambo House in Bloemfontein, which houses Letsoha-Mathae’s office.
EFF provincial chairperson Coach Liphoko told Sunday World the electricity cuts were predicted after his party highlighted insufficient allocations during the budget hearings.
“We said it from the beginning that this whole thing of the budget allocation from the Free State treasury was going to come back and bite them. When we debated budget allocations, we, as the EFF, pointed out that those allocations were not enough.
“We told them that budget allocation for administration when it comes to water and electricity, including tax and rates, was not enough, and we were told that there are enough funds to deal with the historical debt and the payment of water and electricity. But look where we are now,” said Liphoko.
According to him, the ANC should be held responsible for what is happening in the province. “It is clear that Maqueen is a failed project of the ANC as she was put [up by them] to lead the government in the province.
“The buck stops with her as the premier, as she deployed her finance MEC Toto Makume, and those officials in treasury, telling us that they are capable.
“Maqueen is worse than Magashule, as whatever she does there in government is useless.
“When Magashule was the premier, he did a lot of things for the government, including giving students bursaries, even though he had his own mistakes and challenges, but Maqueen is just a clueless leader with no vision or strategy.
“The only thing she knows is to take her political factional battles and bring them into government,” said Liphoko.
ActionSA leader in Free State, Patricia Kopane, stated that the whole situation where Centlec had to cut off electricity was a setback to service delivery.
“Our people are already bearing the brunt of unemployment, and with the power cuts, nothing works. It’s a total chaos that needs to be solved as soon as possible,” said Kopane.
The caucus leader of the DA in the province, Dr Roy Jankielsohn, said the disconnections of government buildings impacted the ability to provide public services and noted that Free State municipalities were struggling financially.
“It is the duty of residents and businesses, including government departments, to pay rates and taxes and service fees on time.
“The government should set an example for residents by paying their debts within required time frames. Residents have services cut for non-payment; why not spheres of government?” said Jankielsohn.
He also said Letsoha-Mathae’s administration was plagued by court cases from disgruntled cadres and stated that she had been accused of malfeasance.
“The premier is becoming an embarrassment to the province and her party that appointed her. No electricity, no services.”
FF Plus caucus leader in Mangaung Metro, Dr Elizabeth Snyman-Van Deventer, said it was sad that the provincial government was failing to pay its debt to Centlec.
“This is a sad situation, and what the provincial government is doing is completely wrong. If services are provided, why does the provincial government fail to pay?
“The premier should approach the national government to get strategies in place on how to govern and pay debts. It’s an embarrassment that the government fails to pay the government that it is indebted to.”
