This, despite voting in a motion of no confidence by means of a secret ballot. The cash-strapped municipality on Friday made headlines when the motion of no confidence, brought by the Freedom Front Plus, saw Mlamleli being kicked to the curb after surviving at least two motions brought against her in the past. 

Whilst the DA and the EFF have welcomed the removal of Mlamleli - describing it as a victory - COPE’s Dennis Bloem says there is absolutely nothing to celebrate as Mlamleli was not the only problem. He adds the entire ANC must account for the collapse of service delivery in Mangaung and the financial rut the municipality finds itself in.

Opposition parties have for months said that under Mlamleli the municipality not only became the first metro to be placed under administration but was downgraded twice by Moody’s credit ratings agency.

The municipality was placed under provincial care last year in December following national treasury's letter to Premier Sisi Ntombela expressing concerns over its inability to generate revenue and provide services to residents.

It has, in the latest Auditor-General report, been flagged as among those incurring irregular expenditure and lacking accountability.

Opposition parties in the Free State Legislature during budget votes further lambasted the provincial government for how the municipality remains in dire straits despite being placed under provincial care.

They told Ntombela and her cabinet that Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu’s reports are a clear indication of how the government fails to prioritise its residents.

Makwetu indicated in his report that the financial health of the province has deteriorated over the years, with more than 80% of municipalities in the province now in a dire financial state. He highlighted that none of the municipalities in this province received a clean audit.

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