Central SA
Masilonyana servicing over R100 million third party debt─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 11:08 Sat, 18 Oct 2025
The troubled Masilonyana municipality in the Free State is grappling with severe financial distress, owing over R100 million in third-party contributions.
Appearing before members of the Free State provincial legislature, Masilonyana municipal manager Mojalefa Matlole confirmed the municipality’s dire financial position, acknowledging its massive third-party debt.
“We have third parties that are owed, the large one being Sala, I think, to the tune of R100 million plus, but we do have an arrangement in place to be making payment towards that.”
He said the municipality owes an additional R11 million to a fund previously known as the Samwu fund.
“There is also an arrangement in place. Remember also, we could not have gotten an equitable share if we had not arranged with the third parties.”
He said Masilonyana has entered into separate repayment agreements with SARS and Eskom, in an effort to address the longstanding debt. He insisted these financial burdens are part of historical challenges the current administration is working to resolve.
Matlole pointed Masilonyana’s failures to the long-standing issue of unfilled senior positions as a core reason for the breakdown in governance and service delivery. Since those vacancies were filled in the past year, the municipality has begun to stabilise.
‘Struggled with administrative challenges’
Masilonyana, which includes towns like Brandfort, Theunissen, and Winburg, has long struggled with administrative challenges, financial mismanagement, and failing infrastructure.
During a recent appearance before the standing committee on public accounts, members of parliament expressed outrage at the extent of the dysfunction, noting the municipality had allocated only R100 for water and sewerage infrastructure during the 2022/2023 financial year.
This startling figure underscores the collapse of basic services in Brandfort and Theunissen, where residents have suffered years without consistent access to water and electricity. Sewage spills reportedly flow through the streets in some communities, painting a grim picture of public health and municipal neglect.
MPs also expressed their concerns about how the municipality had been run for years, with some saying Masilonyana was effectively being run into the ground by individual officials they described as “skilled to loot”.
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