Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Piet Botha and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL.
The DA takes note, with some amusement, that former Free State Premier Ace Magashule is seemingly standing as his small party’s mayoral candidate in multiple Free State municipalities. These include Matjhabeng and Ngwathe.
Magashule is notoriously implicated for corruption, fraud and money-laundering in the 2014 asbestos tender saga involving a R255 million tender. There are also yet to be consequences for the looting of millions of Rands spent without proper documentation or compliance with supply chain processes whilst two of his former MEC’s were Mayor and Municipal Manager, respectively, as set out in the 2010 Fivaz Report.
And the current ANC in Matjhabeng has continued to build on Ace’s legacy:
- Matjhabeng has effectively been bankrupt for more than 5 years;
- The municipality takes on average, 1365 days to pay creditors (should be less than 30 days);
- The municipality takes on average 304 days to collect debt owed to it;
- The municipality spent R871,62 million more than it made in the 2024/25 financial year;
- Its unauthorised expenses for the 2024/25 year were R930,34 million and irregular expenses were at R1 billion;
- Fruitless and wasteful expenses for the 3 financial years before that amounted to a total of R890 million;
- It currently owes the Water Board R9,5 billion and Eskom more than R6 billion.
It is difficult to understand what Magashule will get out of being Executive Mayor. Experience has taught us that he definitely won’t be there to govern the place well.
The people of Matjhabeng, after decades of ANC looting and mismanagement, deserve a DA government that will put them first. That chance comes on 4 November.