The 24-hour winter maintenance shutdown is scheduled to begin on Tuesday (19/8), with key work involving the cleaning and inspection of the Groothoek Settling Dam, said metro spokesperson Qondile Khedama. The affected areas will include Ratau, Ramakgari, Morolong, and Thaba Nchu town. 

This latest shutdown comes amid growing public frustration over recent water cuts, which many blame on years of infrastructure decay and municipal mismanagement. 

Speaking at the city’s Infrastructure Indaba earlier this year, Municipal Manager Sello More laid bare the depth of the metro’s crisis. “Approximately 79,000 households still lack access to water and sanitation services. 

“The ongoing water cuts are due to ageing, dilapidated infrastructure that has been neglected for years. Water treatment plants are either non-functional or overwhelmed, worsening the crisis.”

More added R3 billion is needed to fully address the city’s water and sanitation challenges, acknowledging that service failures have made the metro less attractive to investors.

Opposition parties have not held back in their criticism of the municipality’s handling of water infrastructure. DA Cllr Pieter Lotriet accused the city of ignoring repeated warnings. “Under normal circumstances, the VCW system and Mangaung Metro can barely meet the city’s needs.

“Any disruption leads to weeks of sporadic outages. Pellissier, for instance, is consistently among the first areas to lose water and the last to have it restored.”

He pointed to stalled plans for new reservoirs as a clear sign of poor planning and lack of political commitment, which he said left the metro vulnerable to continued water crises. Mangaung’s financial practices have also drawn sharp criticism. 

During a recent visit by the parliamentary portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta), Mangaung Metro was grilled for returning R194 million in unspent grants for the 2023/24 financial year. Additionally, the metro reportedly spent R39 million on excessive staff overtime, with some employees clocking 120 hours overtime in a single month. 

Mayor Gregory Nthatisi defended the grant spending timeline, explaining the pressure municipalities face in utilising funds. “They are on a time frame, so if you waste any time, then a particular department comes and pounces on that grant, saying you are not utilising it, we can utilise it elsewhere. 

“In the past, 2021/22, 2022/23, half of the grants would go back, if not all. But since then, the improvement is that we have spent between 70–90% of the grants that are given to us.”

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi mvh