Note to editors: Please find attached English and Sesotho soundbites by Cllr Moshe Lefuma.
The recent visits by the MEC of CoGTA and the Premier of the Free State just sums up what the Democratic Alliance (DA) has been saying for years, that, Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality is in ruin and needs intervention as soon as possible.
The political leadership of the ANC and the municipal leadership have given up on turning things around for the betterment of the community. There is no synergy and coherence between these two arms of the municipality. Decisions taken within the municipal council are not implemented or abided by the administrative staff. And there are no consequences management is done.
The municipality has not had a permanent Municipal Manager since October 2022 and currently doesn’t have an acting Municipal Manager either. The Auditor General has flagged UIF/W amounting to R7 billion and material irregularities within the municipality. The AG has made some recommendations on these issues from the 2020/21 financial year to the current financial year, but none have been implemented. The municipality is also faced with the implementation of a new organisational structure, which has not taken any shape.
The municipality has failed for years to provide regular water and electricity to the residents, with half of the daily water supply being lost to leaks. It cannot account for most of its bulk water infrastructure and electricity infrastructure is also dilapidated and unsafe. It is unable to collect revenue due to non-payment of both water and electricity. This has led to a total collapse of services in the municipality.
The DA welcomes the MEC and the Premier has finally promised to step in. However, we believe that this may be too little too late. They both promised that in the next 3 months, there would be stability in the municipality, a promise we would hold them to. We support calls for the municipality to be dissolved and new elections to be held to hold the municipality accountable at the ballot.