Dlamini-Zuma’s meeting with the said committees and managers comes after she met with the MEC for the provincial department of Cogta, Mxolisi Dukwana, and Premier Sisi Ntombela on Monday. 

On Friday, during a debriefing session at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), it was announced that Dlamini-Zuma allegedly plans on taking over the full operation of the ailing metro and also strip the council of its executive powers.

Also read: Cogta moves to thwart administrative chaos in Mangaung

This came after the municipality, which is currently under administration, was marred in serious controversy, including violent community protests, which even led to two of its fleet garbage removal trucks being torched. 

OFM News previously reported that the ailing municipalities, which include the Welkom-based Matjhabeng, the Theunissen-based Masilonyana, and the Trompsburg-based Kopanong, including Mangaung, all appeared before the NCOP over their lack of service delivery, amongst others.

Political factions and infighting have been identified as factors derailing the troubled Bloemfontein-based Mangaung Metro. The NCOP permanent delegate from the Free State, Itumeleng Ntsube, said the current situation at the metro is due to people longing for power.

Meanwhile, during the tabling of his 2022/23 budget speech in the Free State Provincial Legislature, MEC Dukwana told Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) that state capture was to be blamed for the poor state and failure of Free State municipalities to deliver the most basic services.

MEC Dukwana said the municipalities are facing serious challenges which threaten the future of this province. He said that some challenges in municipalities are structural and cannot be attributed to a single event. Dukwana once told the State Capture Commission, chaired by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, that the former Free State premier Ace Magashule captured the province through fraud and corruption. 

OFM News previously reported that the Free State contravened the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). The provincial government recorded 731 invoices amounting to R38 547 043 by the end of December 2021. 

Some of the offices under the provincial government previously had their water and electricity cut off due to the non-payment of their bills to the cash-strapped Mangaung Metro Municipality. The Free State government is currently paying R90 million monthly – as per the agreement with the Metro’s power utility, Centlec - in an attempt to service their debt. It is still unclear how the provincial government will service their debt to the Metro, as their water bill amounts to billions of rands.

Also read: All provinces violated Public Finance Management Act

However, Dukwana sent a strong warning to ailing municipalities and their leaders across the province.

During his second budget speech for the 2022/23 financial year in the Legislature, MEC Mxolisi Dukwana said those opposed to winds of change, who are obstructing the department's efforts to intervene on behalf of citizens, have no future in municipalities. 

OFM News