Mashatile participated in the Clean Cities campaign in Heidedal, Bloemfontein, on Tuesday (5/7). 

His comments followed a disturbing report from an oversight visit by the cooperative governance and traditional affairs portfolio committee, which highlighted the poor state and mismanagement of numerous Free State municipalities. Speaking to the media, Mashatile acknowledged the severe challenges faced by municipalities nationwide, stressing that the situation in the Free State is not unique. 

He emphasized that, in general, the country’s municipalities are grappling with poor service delivery, insufficient resources, and mismanagement of funds, among other issues. These struggles have led to the deterioration of many local governments’ ability to function effectively.

“We … have already said one of our biggest challenges in the country is the state of our municipalities,” Mashatile said. 

“You don’t have to single out the Free State; it’s a problem throughout the country, and the ANC itself has said that as a party. We in government are now working on a plan to fix municipalities.”

Unable to provide critical services

Mashatile also revealed that the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has presented a detailed report to the cabinet, which will soon be discussed to identify solutions. Some municipalities are unable to provide critical services because they lack a solid economic base. 

It’s not due to a lack of effort but rather a result of economic constraints, particularly in areas that lack income from ratepayers, especially from businesses, he said. “It’s not like people are lazy, it’s just that when you don’t have an economic base, you don’t have income coming from ratepayers, particularly businesses, so it means you will need resources coming elsewhere.”

Mashatile added that the government is working on ways to assist municipalities by helping to improve the rate of revenue collection, where municipalities have a base to collect revenue.

Clean Cities campaign

Some large businesses are contributing to the municipal financial struggles by failing to pay for municipal services. This, he argued, exacerbates the problem and further limits the capacity of municipalities to deliver essential services.

Discussing the broader goals of the Clean Cities campaign, he emphasised its role in fostering collaboration between various stakeholders, including local communities. The campaign’s goal is not to point fingers but to work together to tackle the cleanliness challenges facing South African cities.

Meanwhile, the DA in the Free State called the deputy president’s visit to the Free State “nothing more than a self-serving PR exercise designed to distract from his own scandals and the ANC’s decades-long destruction of the province”.

It’s the same deputy president who has been found guilty by parliament’s joint ethics committee of failing to declare a diamond given to his wife by alleged fraudster Louis Liebenberg, and who also failed to disclose ownership of a R28.9 million Constantia mansion for more than two years, said DA provincial leader Dr Roy Jankielsohn.

“His personal record of secrecy, ethical breaches, and unanswered questions about gifts and benefactors disqualifies him from pretending to be a champion of clean governance.

“The Free State has been gutted by ANC cadres whose greed, corruption, and incompetence have collapsed service delivery. It does not need another cadre flying in to inspect the devastation they helped create, without consequence, without solutions, and without shame.”

‘Confirmed by the South African Human Rights Commission’s damning report last year‘

The Clean Cities and Towns Campaign “would be laughable if it weren’t so insulting”, Jankielsohn said. “Free State municipalities are among the worst offenders in the country when it comes to environmental pollution and service delivery collapse.

“This was confirmed by the South African Human Rights Commission’s damning report last year, which labelled the situation a human rights crisis. To date, nothing has been done to address the problems or hold the guilty cadres accountable.”

Jankielsohn added that the people of the Free State do not need a deputy president “embroiled in corruption allegations and ethics breaches using them as a backdrop for personal PR. They need honest, accountable leadership that will only come when they remove the ANC’s corrupt and self-serving cadres at the ballot box.”

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi mvh