Outrage is growing over conditions in towns such as Allanridge, where residents are battling deteriorating infrastructure, unsafe water, and raw sewage flooding homes.

ActionSA Provincial Leader Patricia Kopane has condemned the state of governance in Matjhabeng, citing the persistent water and sanitation crisis in Allanridge as emblematic of a municipality in freefall.

“We are appalled by the continued deterioration of living conditions in Allanridge, a town within the collapsing Matjhabeng Municipality,” said Kopane.

“Despite repeated warnings and the allocation of over R2.2 billion for water infrastructure repairs, the people of Allanridge remain abandoned to face a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.

“In January, E. coli contamination was confirmed in Allanridge’s main water reservoir, exposing residents to serious health risks. Months later, no meaningful progress has been made to restore safe and clean water. Residents are still forced to collect water from unsafe sources, placing their lives, especially those of children and the elderly, at extreme risk.”

The situation is equally grim in Nyakallong due to raw sewage and flooded RDP houses, with some homes having been washed away into the Voëlpan, Kopane said, blasting the silence from authorities as shameful and unconstitutional.

She said that despite the provincial government and Matjhabeng being fully aware of this disaster, nothing has been done.

Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae has acknowledged the dire conditions in Allanridge. The provincial government is working to relocate some residents and provide housing solutions before the end of the year.

“We were in Allanridge, and we went to the site. There’s infrastructure in some of the sites there and indeed by December, we will have delivered some of the houses for people staying there. We don’t have to wait for disaster to happen, we really need to be proactive,” she said.

However, residents are skeptical. Many say they have lived under these conditions for over three decades, breathing in noxious smells and enduring chronic flooding.

Allegations of mismanagement and corruption have plagued Matjhabeng Municipality for years. Local officials are accused of awarding questionable tenders and neglecting service delivery while communities suffer.

The ANC Youth League (Ancyl) has called for the dissolution of multiple Free State municipalities, including Mangaung, Matjhabeng, Lejweleputswa, Nala, Masilonyana, Dihlabeng, and Maluti-A-Phofung. The Youth League declared that these councils have become “protection units for thieves” rather than functioning arms of local governance.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi cvs