Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Suzette Steyn and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mafube has escalated the municipality’s ongoing financial collapse to provincial CoGTA representative David McKay and the NCOP’s Dr Igor Scheurkogel.
Mafube is again plagued by unpaid salaries, halted projects and repeated SARS attachments. On 10 April 2025, Ms Noloyiso Gqoli was appointed Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO) after the previous CFO resigned, fearing for her safety when armed workers stormed her office over salary disputes.
Financial instability worsened in June 2025, when essential workers were denied allowances. The previous Acting Municipal Manager (AMM), Adv Mothusi Lepheana, dismissed these as overtime and cut payments. Workers responded with stay-aways, causing irregular water supply. In July, one of two pumps at the Frankfort intake tower failed, leaving communities in Frankfort, Namahadi and Cornelia reliant on a single pump.
No funds were available for repairs, and suppliers, losing faith in Mafube’s commitment to pay, insisted on prepayment.
On 30 September 2025, Council was informed that SARS had again attached Mafube’s account for outstanding debts, depleting funds and leaving R1.4 million in unpaid salaries. No guarantee could be given that October salaries were ringfenced.
Contract workers on the R5 million CoGTA-funded oxidation pond refurbishment project, intended to stop sewage flowing into the Wilge River, have also gone unpaid for two months, forcing further project delays.
Despite receiving equitable share allocations, infrastructure grants, and employing three consulting firms, revenue collection has collapsed. As of 25 September 2025, it stood at just 15%, down from 51% in June, showing a steep decline in accountability.
The DA has escalated the AMM’s reckless disregard of the MEC’s directive to ringfence salaries, which directly caused the R1.4 million shortfall and the unpaid staff. She must be held accountable.
Mafube Local Municipality has been under Section 139(5)(a) and (c) intervention for the past three years, yet financial mismanagement continues to cripple service delivery and harm residents.