Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Tjaart van der Walt and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Kabelo Moreeng.
Mangaung has advertised a complete set of new bylaws for public comment without any Council resolution authorising publication, in direct violation of the Municipal Systems Act and the City’s own Bylaw on Bylaws.
This unlawful process exposes residents to confusion, wasteful spending, and invalid legislation that will collapse on legal challenge. It makes Mangaung a test case for whether the rule of law still applies in local government.
This is not an isolated mistake but part of a recurring pattern of unlawful administrative and political conduct.
From attempts to amend the Planning Bylaw to allow township establishment without water, sewer, or electricity services to illegal land-disposal notices, the City acts first and retreats only when forced to.
The same disregard for legality was visible when the DA’s motion of no confidence in the Speaker, duly tabled under the Rules in May, was unlawfully rejected on 30 October.
Once again, legality was treated as optional when it became politically inconvenient.
Instead of strengthening enforcement systems and administrative capacity under its Financial Recovery Plan (FRP), the municipality is rushing to “tick boxes” by rewriting laws in a process so flawed that even its own officials were unaware of it.
Despite years under intervention, billions in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure remain unaddressed.
The City’s failure to recover this money or hold officials accountable makes a mockery of the Financial Recovery Plan.
Rather than fixing its finances and enforcing accountability, Mangaung is rewriting some bylaws no one asked for while the core financial rot continues unchecked.
Rushing through bylaws without legal process may create the illusion of progress, but it destroys the very credibility and investor confidence the FRP is supposed to rebuild.
Real growth and reliable service delivery require systemic improvements, capable appointments, digital systems, and consistent enforcement of existing laws.
Governance must come before growth; otherwise, even the best policies fail under a broken system.
Mangaung cannot continue to repeat unlawful actions and call them progress.
If the National Treasury allows lawless law-making to proceed under its own recovery supervision, it will signal that compliance no longer matters anywhere in South Africa.
This pattern of illegality and political window-dressing to mask decline undermines both the Financial Recovery Plan and public trust in democratic governance.