ANC Free State leaders accused of milking troubled municipality

TheANCprovincial working committee in the Free State has been accused of defying the party’s deployees in government, resulting in the near collapse of theMatjhabeng local municipality. Motsoeneng and Dukwana have pushed back against the province’s intervention to protect their financial interests in the municipality, the sources told theMail & Guardian. This, they said, has in turn rendered mayorThanduxolo Khaliphauntouchable, allowing him to act without consequences.

The municipality has for years failed to provide adequate water and sanitation to residents or efficiently collect revenue from customers, while contracts have been awarded to companies that have not completed or properly executed their work. It is also struggling to service its debts, leading to a court ordered and mandatory financial recovery plan. Several people have allegedly died under mysterious circumstances after raising concerns about corruption within the municipality, sources with intimate knowledge of the matter said, adding that this had deterred potential whistleblowers who feared for their lives.

“We are apprehensive about consuming food and water in public venues due to uncertainty. The former municipal manager drank water at an event and complained of chest pains and passed away thereafter. Some individuals have allegedly been killed for highlighting corruption,” one of several sources said.

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A company responsible for water meter billing in the municipality was initially terminated upon the expiration of its contract but was later placed on a month-to-month agreement. The municipality then appointed a new revenue enhancement company, allegedly paying it R2 million monthly. The new company utilises municipal offices and phones to make calls to residents, urging them to pay for services and issuing estimated bills, which residents often dispute.

Before the new company arrived, the municipality was collecting about 65% of revenue from service users but this has now fallen to about 51%, sources said. The municipality’s recent purchase of two vacuum jet sewer trucks at an inflated price of R20 million has also raised concerns, as both vehicles have begun to experience mechanical issues, with one already inoperable. “The municipality allegedly acquires trucks through auctions from other municipalities and then takes them to a workshop to be repainted so they appear new. Recently, some trucks were taken to the licensing department to be registered after it was claimed they were new, only for the registration system to reject them because some belonged to other municipalities,” one source said.

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