DA calls for urgent fix to Matjhabeng’s broken complaints system amid weeks of service collapse

Issued by Cllr. Marie van Rooyen – DA Councillor Matjhabeng Local Municipality
21 Nov 2025 in Press Statements

Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Marie van Rooyen and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Kabelo Moreeng.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will push for the immediate strengthening of Matjhabeng’s municipal call centre to ensure that service complaints are properly logged, followed up, and resolved within 48 hours. By restoring an efficient complaints system, residents will once again experience reliable service delivery.

When service failures go unattended, residents suffer health risks, financial strain, and declining living standards.

An effective call centre with competent personnel is of utmost importance in Matjhabeng, whose residents lost all trust in the municipality.

A call centre must be manned by officials who can handle and divert service complaints to the respective municipal sections, and by dedicated officials who will follow up on complaints and have the willpower to solve problems within 48 hours.

The council makes promises daily that effective service delivery is high on their list, yet there is no accountability. Complaints are being lodged every day, to no avail.

Refuse collection came to a standstill for almost 7 weeks, and residents had to use private contractors, paying out of their own pockets. Still, they had to pay the municipality for a service that had not been delivered.

Paying residents have a right to services; those who do not pay must be held accountable.

The DA demands the following:

  1. An effective call centre.
  2. Weekly refuse removal.
  3. Trained and educated officials who can effectively steer their respective tasks within timelines.

In a well-run municipality, the following service complaints should be responded to within 48 hours:

  1. Water leaks.
  2. Sewerage spillages and unadulterated raw sewerage freely flowing in streets.
  3. Potholes and poor road infrastructure.
  4. Littering and prosecution of offenders.

Paying residents have the right to reliable services, and those who do not pay must face appropriate accountability measures to protect the sustainability of municipal operations.