Note to Editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Cllr Ian Riddle, Afrikaans soundbite by Cllr Richard van Wyk and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL. See attached pictures here and here.
Residents of Smithfield, Rouxville and Zastron have been left without water since Sunday, 26 April 2026, as financial and labour challenges in the Mohokare Local Municipality persist. The continued water outage is severely affecting the lives and livelihoods of residents of Mohokare, with devastating impacts on the economy, health and safety.
The DA has now been informed that the prolonged water outages are believed to be due to Mohokare’s bank account being attached by its former electricity operator, Centlec, for amounts owed. In 2025, the DA raised questions about the outstanding amounts due to Centlec from Mohokare, and it was stated that the amounts owed were in dispute between the parties. The attachment has led to workers not being paid in full, resulting in tools being out of service and water treatment plants not operating.
Questions raised by the DA to the Free State MEC of CoGTA in 2025 revealed Mohokare’s severe financial distress, with the municipality owing millions to third parties. As of 31 March 2025, Mohokare owed third parties just under R156 million, with SARS owing R24 million and the Municipal Workers Pension Fund owing R13 million (see here Q220). The DA has requested a section 139 financial intervention in Mohokare by the Free State Provincial Government. It is clear that the current ANC leadership in Mohokare is unable to deliver the most basic services to residents. The dismal financial performance of Mohokare, as indicated in year-on-year Auditor General (AG) reports, substantiates the DAs’ calls for financial intervention.
Section 139(5) of the Constitution is clear that where a municipality cannot meet its financial commitments or is in a serious or persistent material breach of its obligations to provide basic services, the executive must – “(a) impose a recovery plan aimed at securing the municipality’s ability to meet its obligations to provide basic services or its financial commitments.” The Provincial Government is thus obliged to intervene by imposing a financial recovery plan in the municipality.
The DA will continue to call for accountability and quality service delivery for the residents of all three towns in Mohokare, whether in the local council, the Free State Provincial Legislature, or Parliament. Our DA public representatives across all spheres of government continue to fight for improved lives and livelihoods in Mohokare.
In the upcoming local government elections, residents of Mohokare have a choice between continued failing service delivery under the ANC or a blueprint for a good DA local government that provides quality basic services, enabling economic growth, job creation, and social progress for all.