Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Estelle Dansey and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL. See attached pictures here, here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will escalate the ongoing service delivery failures in Matjhabeng Local Municipality to the MEC of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Saki Mokoena, demanding urgent corrective measures and accountability. Despite the municipality being placed under administration in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution, residents continue to endure worsening conditions, indicating that the intervention has thus far been unsuccessful.
DA councillors submit reports on service delivery failures daily across the municipality, yet these reports continue to be ignored. Residents are left to suffer the devastating consequences of a municipality that has collapsed under the weight of mismanagement, maladministration, and a lack of political will to govern effectively.
Across Matjhabeng, families face severe and prolonged water shortages, with many communities going without water for several days. At the same time, raw sewerage is overflowing into neighbourhoods, posing serious health risks and further degrading the quality of life. Most recently, refuse collection has come to a complete halt, as employees have allegedly gone on strike over an unresolved overtime dispute with the municipality.
To compound matters, there is little to no response to the backlog of streetlight repairs and other essential services, plunging neighbourhoods into darkness and insecurity. The Section 139 intervention has failed to deliver meaningful change for residents, who continue to ask: What is the municipality actually doing for its people?
The DA demands immediate and decisive action. If no action is taken, we will escalate these failures directly to the relevant Minister and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).
We will ensure that those responsible for the neglect and collapse of services in Matjhabeng are held accountable. The residents of this municipality deserve better; they deserve a government that upholds its constitutional obligation to provide reliable, basic services.
The people of Matjhabeng cannot continue to live without water, surrounded by refuse and sewage, while their constitutional rights are trampled. We will continue to fight relentlessly to restore service delivery and dignity to the residents of Matjhabeng.