Matjhabeng Municipality has become the starkest example of how corruption and mismanagement rob Free State residents of dignity, safety, and hope. For too long, this municipality, which includes Welkom, Allanridge, Virginia, and Odendaalsrus, has been allowed to collapse under the weight of incompetence and political patronage.
Matjhabeng owes Eskom and Bloem Water R5 billion each, crippling the municipality’s ability to provide even the most basic services. Its vehicle fleet has been attached over unpaid debts of more than R200 million, leaving entire communities stranded without refuse removal or maintenance services. Residents in areas like Allanridge live in homes surrounded by raw sewage, with children playing in contaminated streets. This is not only a public health hazard, it is an affront to human dignity.
ActionSA welcomes the suspension of EPWP funding by the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. This is a long-overdue move that sends a strong message that national resources cannot continue to be channelled into municipalities where accountability is absent and corruption runs unchecked. Funding without oversight has done nothing but entrench the dysfunction, and Matjhabeng is the clearest proof of this.
All of the financial mismanagement and corruption highlighted by the Portfolio Committee of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) are not new revelations — they are the same issues that residents have been living with for years. We cannot simply record these findings and move on; we need both the politicians and the officials who created this mess to be held fully accountable.
In October 2023, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) wrote to Premier Mxolisi Dukwana, instructing him to invoke Section 139(5) of the Constitution and appoint a competent, independent administrator to take control of Matjhabeng’s finances. Nearly two years later, that instruction remains ignored. The provincial government’s failure to act has allowed the crisis to worsen, deepening the suffering of residents and further eroding trust in local government.
ActionSA demands the following steps be taken immediately:
- The Free State Provincial Government must invoke Section 139(5) and place Matjhabeng under administration.
- A qualified, independent administrator must be appointed to stabilise the municipality’s finances and operations.
- A forensic audit must be launched into every financial transaction, contract, and tender awarded by Matjhabeng.
- Full transparency must be provided to the public about how billions in municipal debt will be recovered and what measures will be taken to ensure future accountability.
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. They deserve to know that their money will go to fixing roads, restoring water supply, and rebuilding infrastructure, not lining the pockets of corrupt politicians and tenderpreneurs.
ActionSA will continue to fight for the residents of Matjhabeng. We will not allow their cries to be ignored or their dignity to be trampled by a government that looks away while entire communities sink deeper into neglect.
It is time to fix Matjhabeng, and it starts with decisive intervention, honest leadership, and the removal of the rot that has paralysed this municipality.
ActionSA Calls for Urgent Intervention to Save Matjhabeng Municipality
Matjhabeng Municipality has become the starkest example of how corruption and mismanagement rob Free State residents of dignity, safety, and hope. For too long, this municipality, which includes Welkom, Allanridge, Virginia, and Odendaalsrus, has been allowed to collapse under the weight of incompetence and political patronage.
Matjhabeng owes Eskom and Bloem Water R5 billion each, crippling the municipality’s ability to provide even the most basic services. Its vehicle fleet has been attached over unpaid debts of more than R200 million, leaving entire communities stranded without refuse removal or maintenance services. Residents in areas like Allanridge live in homes surrounded by raw sewage, with children playing in contaminated streets. This is not only a public health hazard, it is an affront to human dignity.
ActionSA welcomes the suspension of EPWP funding by the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. This is a long-overdue move that sends a strong message that national resources cannot continue to be channelled into municipalities where accountability is absent and corruption runs unchecked. Funding without oversight has done nothing but entrench the dysfunction, and Matjhabeng is the clearest proof of this.
All of the financial mismanagement and corruption highlighted by the Portfolio Committee of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) are not new revelations — they are the same issues that residents have been living with for years. We cannot simply record these findings and move on; we need both the politicians and the officials who created this mess to be held fully accountable.
In October 2023, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) wrote to Premier Mxolisi Dukwana, instructing him to invoke Section 139(5) of the Constitution and appoint a competent, independent administrator to take control of Matjhabeng’s finances. Nearly two years later, that instruction remains ignored. The provincial government’s failure to act has allowed the crisis to worsen, deepening the suffering of residents and further eroding trust in local government.
ActionSA demands the following steps be taken immediately:
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. They deserve to know that their money will go to fixing roads, restoring water supply, and rebuilding infrastructure, not lining the pockets of corrupt politicians and tenderpreneurs.
ActionSA will continue to fight for the residents of Matjhabeng. We will not allow their cries to be ignored or their dignity to be trampled by a government that looks away while entire communities sink deeper into neglect.
It is time to fix Matjhabeng, and it starts with decisive intervention, honest leadership, and the removal of the rot that has paralysed this municipality.