Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by David Mc Kay MPL and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL. See attached pictures here, here and here.
The Democratic Alliance calls for immediate action from the Free State Government to rescue Masilonyana Municipality from total collapse, as service delivery failures and lawlessness now threaten every resident and business.
A “tools down” strike has crippled all municipal operations, leaving Winburg, Theunissen, and Winnie Mandela Town/Brandfort without water, electricity, or and essential services for weeks.
Exacerbating the situation is a leadership vacuum, with no permanent Municipal Manager or Chief Financial Officer, and ANC councillors reportedly sabotaging Council meetings, blocking any hope of restoring order.
Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae continues to insult residents by dismissing their suffering and hiding behind empty political rhetoric, while the real crisis deepens.
The devastation has now spilt over into the private sector. Rogue elements, emboldened by the absence of leadership, proper governance and accountability, are intimidating private sector workers and forcing businesses to close. Reports confirm that employees in the private sector are being threatened to stay away from work, strangling the local economy and pushing families to the brink. In Theunissen, the financial office was forcefully shut by rogue employees, and now the strike’s lawlessness is suffocating both public and private life.
Winburg has endured nearly two months without water. DA ward councillor Brunhilde Rossouw remains the only lifeline, supplying water from her private borehole daily. A heroic but unsustainable effort. Even correctional services depend on the water she supplies. Repeated, urgent pleas to provincial CoGTA have been ignored, despite clear evidence of the crisis and multiple requests for intervention.
The Masilonyana Municipality’s collapse is not an accident, and the Premier’s attempts to sugarcoat the situation are an insult to residents who have been left to fend for themselves, as the recent protest attests. It is the direct result of years of mismanagement, political infighting, and a total disregard for residents’ constitutional rights. The time for empty promises and blame-shifting is over.
The DA will use every avenue at its disposal to ensure the critical water pumps are repaired and reinstalled, restoring water to Winburg and surrounding areas. We demand an end to intimidation, the restoration of service delivery, and accountability for those responsible. Residents must not accept this betrayal; they must exercise their power at the ballot box and vote for change to end the suffering and rebuild Masilonyana.
Only by electing accountable, service-driven leadership can Masilonyana’s hope to reclaim their dignity and secure a future in which water, electricity, and basic services are a right, not a privilege for the few.