Central SA
Matjhabeng leadership under fire as Cogta threatens to withhold funds─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 12:19 Thu, 22 May 2025
The embattled Matjhabeng Municipality faces escalating pressure as the Free State Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has threatened to request all grants, including the equitable share, to be withheld.
This, as Cogta calls for the Matjhabeng leadership to cooperate in implementing a court-ordered intervention.
In October 2024, the Free State High Court ruled that the Matjhabeng Municipality was to be placed under administration, invoking Section 139(5) of the Constitution. The municipality’s appeal against the judgment failed, with costs. Free State Cogta MEC Saki Mokoena has since engaged in a back-and-forth with Speaker Bheke Stofile to enforce the prescribed intervention.
In a letter dated 14 May, Mokoena instructed Stofile to convene a special council meeting for the implementation of the court directive.
However, Stofile responded that permission must first be sought from Matjhabeng mayor, Thanduxolo Khalipha. In response, Mokoena issued another letter, warning that failure to comply would result in withholding critical funding.
Mokoena expressed dismay at the council’s response, stating: “It is incumbent upon me as the member of the executive council responsible for local government to implement the abovementioned court judgment and align myself with its directives and timelines.”
He warned that if cooperation from the Matjhabeng council is not forthcoming, he would have no choice but to request National Treasury and the Minister of Cooperative Governance to withhold financial grants to enforce the court order.
The EFF in the Free State criticised the municipality’s leadership, accusing Stofile of undermining legal and constitutional obligations
“We told the MEC, Bheke Stofile is a henchman of the mayor and will do whatever it takes to protect or defend him … The people of Matjhabeng continue to reject them,” EFF Provincial Chairperson, Mapheule Liphoko, said.
The EFF has petitioned for a special council meeting to expedite the intervention process.
Meanwhile, the ANC in the Free State has dismissed the intervention as unwarranted.
They believe Section 139 won’t be an appropriate intervention at Matjhabeng as the ANC has made quite a number of interventions to stabilise that municipality, including reinstating Khalipha, said spokesperson Thabo Meeko.
