Note to editors: Please find attached English and Sesotho soundbites by Cllr Hismajesty Maqhubu.
Tokologo Local municipal workers have again been left high and dry by the cash-strapped municipality which could not pay worker salaries on Friday 24 November. These hardworking men and women looking forward to taking advantage of the lower food prices over the black Friday weekend woke up to the news that the municipality was not in a financial position to cover salary costs for November.
The dysfunctional municipality has been under Section 139 by the Provincial Executive Committee of the Free State since June 2022. Since this intervention, the municipality has become worse by the day. Residents have been without water for months in Dealesville and Hertzogville without a word from the lead administrator and/or the MEC of CoGTA. Secondly, third parties, such as Persal deductions, couldn’t be paid while workers’ medical aids were inactive, and now there are no salaries under the same Section 139 intervention.
We reiterate our call to have Tokologo Local Municipality placed under National Administration in terms of Section 154 of the Constitution requiring both National and Provincial spheres of government to take positive steps to support the municipality. The situation in Tokologo seems untenable and it is the community and workers feel the brunt of this situation of bankruptcy and mismanagement.