Central SA
Parties to monitor implementation of Matjhabeng’s financial recovery plan─── ZENANDE MPAME 12:43 Wed, 10 Sep 2025
The Matjhabeng Municipality is required to cancel all EPWP contracts for workers paid from the municipal budget by the National Treasury at the end of October.
The DA in Matjhabeng has noted with concern the revelations made by the National Treasury’s Municipal Financial Services (MFRS) unit that the municipality has spent R14 million on an illegal EPWP unit.
This was revealed during the Financial Recovery Plan (FRP) workshop on Thursday (4/9) with municipal councillors by both the provincial and national treasuries.
The report provided comprehensive findings that there was a co-funding of the EPWP grant by 63% in 2023/24, amounting to R4.7 million, and 86% in the 2024/25 financial year, amounting to R10.25 million.
“The DA in Matjhabeng will monitor the implementation of these FRP resolutions closely,” said Matjhabeng councillor Maxie Badenhorst. And will continue to fight to ensure that accountability and consequence management are enforced.
“At the same meeting, it was also confirmed the municipality has blocked the Section 139 intervention team from accessing critical financial documents. This once again underscores the ongoing abuse, cover-ups, and irregular practices that the DA in Matjhabeng has consistently raised.”
Questions were sent to the cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) minister Velenkosini Hlabisa by the Free State National Council of Provinces member, Dr Igor Scheurkogel, after the public works and infrastructure minister, Dean Macpherson, cleared them for the 2024/2025 financial year.
The questions included:
- Kindly advise based on their appointment and what their job descriptions are per the roles that they were appointed to?
- Kindly advise on how these individuals were appointed, as there are no positions available and or any positions that are provided for such a “supporting unit” in the Municipal Structures Act 1998 (Act No. 117 of 1998), including in the political office structure of the Act.
- Did they apply for the positions to form part of the “supporting unit”, did they attend interviews, or follow any recruiting process for their appointments?
- What is the office of the mayor’s current staff structure within his office? It is alleged that there are multiple appointments in positions that do not exist in the staff structure of the mayor’s office.
An inquiry was sent to the Matjhabeng municipality.
