Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Gregory Nthatisi has conceded that placing the municipality under administration has failed to yield the desired results. The mayor made the admission during his State of the City Address on Tuesday, where he also tabled the metro’s proposed three-year budget.
Nthatisi attributed the lack of progress to a combination of inexperienced administrators and political infighting among councillors. The municipality was placed under administration in 2022 in an effort to address governance and service delivery failures, but Nthatisi revealed that the intervention had been largely ineffective.
Political Resistance and Inexperienced Administrators
The mayor cited resistance from local politicians and a lack of support for the appointed administrators as key obstacles.
“The impact of that intervention could not be felt in many ways,” Nthatisi said. “Part of why it could not be felt was that the intervention focus could not be realized… they did not enjoy the support from those they were supposed to work with—from the administration to politicians.”
He also criticized the caliber of officials deployed to oversee the turnaround strategy, stating that some lacked the necessary experience for their roles.
Chaotic Leadership and Financial Mismanagement
Nthatisi further highlighted instability in leadership as a major hindrance, revealing that the municipality had six different municipal managers between 2021 and 2023, in addition to two administrators.
The mayor’s address came just two weeks after the Auditor-General (AG) released a scathing report on Mangaung’s financial and service delivery failures. The AG found that the municipality not only failed to provide basic services but also actively harmed residents through mismanagement.
Opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), slammed the ANC-led administration for deteriorating infrastructure and unspent grants. DA councillor cited sewer system failures in Bloemfontein and Botshabelo, where no contractors were appointed for years despite allocated funds, leading to millions being returned to the National Treasury.
New Plans Amid Skepticism
Despite the challenges, Nthatisi outlined new plans to revitalize the metro, including:
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R955 million allocated for upgrading informal settlements.
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R7.5 billion sought to refurbish crumbling road infrastructure.
However, opposition parties remain unconvinced. Some ANC councillors have previously broken ranks to vote with the opposition, raising doubts over whether the mayor’s budget will pass.
As Mangaung residents grow increasingly frustrated with poor service delivery and unemployment, pressure mounts on Nthatisi’s administration to deliver tangible improvements—or risk further political fallout.
