Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Sesotho soundbites by Cllr Mosala Matobole and Afrikaans soundbite by Cllr Paul Kotze. See attached pictures here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mangaung Metro Municipality will formally escalate the infrastructure crisis in Botshabelo through council oversight mechanisms, site inspections, and written demands for immediate remedial action to ensure residents receive the basic services to which they are entitled.
The residents of Botshabelo are calling for help as MMM continues to ignore the steady deterioration of infrastructure in their community. Persistent water leaks, sewage spills, pothole-ridden roads, and failing sanitation systems have become a daily reality, exposing residents to serious health risks and deepening frustration with an administration that appears absent and unaccountable.
For years, Botshabelo has been plagued by numerous unresolved infrastructure failures. Precious water is wasted daily when burst pipes and leaks go unaddressed for weeks or months, undermining water security and causing secondary damage to roads and private property. Raw sewage flows through streets and open spaces, contaminating soil and waterways, posing severe health risks, and reflecting a complete breakdown in basic service delivery. Roads riddled with potholes damage vehicles, endanger pedestrians and disrupt transport routes, limiting access to work, schools and emergency services.
Refuse collection is irregular and unreliable, resulting in overflowing bins and littered streets that further exacerbate health and environmental concerns. In many areas, pit and bucket toilets are not drained regularly, leading to overflows that strip residents of dignity and place additional strain on already vulnerable households. These failures are not isolated incidents but symptoms of poor planning, weak maintenance regimes and a lack of political will by the current administration.
The consequences of this neglect are severe and far-reaching. Communities face increased exposure to waterborne diseases, children play near contaminated areas, and families are forced to live in unsafe conditions.
Local businesses suffer as operating costs rise, property values decline, and investor confidence erodes, directly undermining job creation and economic opportunity in Botshabelo. When basic services fail, crime and illegal dumping increase, and trust between residents and local government is further broken.
The DA demands urgent, transparent action from the municipality. We will call for the allocation of sufficient resources to address the infrastructure backlog, insist on a clear and time-bound maintenance and repair plan, and use council oversight to hold officials accountable for failures and delays.
Reliable basic services are not a privilege; they are the foundation of dignity, safety and economic growth, and we will continue to fight to restore them.