The Free State executive authority’s decision to terminate the Section 139 intervention at the Mafube Local Municipality (Frankfort, Tweeling, Villiers and Cornelia) serves as further proof that the ANC government is utterly unable to provide proper leadership on provincial level and to prevent the decline of municipalities.
Since the provincial government intervened in 2017, the Mafube administration did not succeed in improving the Municipality’s performance. On the contrary, its financial situation deteriorated and service delivery has ground to a standstill.
At present, Mafube is still affected by frequent water shortages, there are no garbage disposal services and residents do not receive their monthly utility statements.
Even though the administration was aware of the fact that 94,5% of its residents’ outstanding debt was older than 90 days, it made no attempt whatsoever to improve its dismal collection rate of 14%.
The Municipality’s debtor account stands at more than R630 million while it owes its creditors approximately R600 million.
It is unacceptable that the Free State government’s Section 139 interventions come to nothing and that these interventions are often terminated, like the case in point, for no apparent reason. The FF Plus has already submitted an official question about the matter in the Free State Legislature.
The only long-term solution is for the Municipality’s residents to stand up and stand together with the FF Plus in the upcoming local government elections to demonstrate opposition to the ANC’s destruction of the Municipality.
The decline must be brought to an end.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Heloïse Denner on FF Plus
