Central SA
Masilonyana’s troubles deepen as court orders go unheeded─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 11:05 Tue, 04 Nov 2025
The administration issues at an ailing Free State municipality continue to worsen, despite its recent appearance before the portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs.
The sheriff attached assets worth more than R1 million at the cash-strapped Masilonyana Local Municipality in Theunissen on Tuesday, 4 November. This comes amid another legal battle the municipality lost against its former legal manager, Itumeleng Mokgaecho.
Councillors witnessed the sheriff attaching property while being ignored by officials at the municipality’s finance offices in Theunissen, said DA Cllr Marietta Visser. “This is allowed by the troika, while the mayor fights for her position at all costs.
“Council, portfolio, and exco sittings do not take place as per schedule, which leaves the representatives elected by the community in the dark.
Assets attached in Masilonyana’s Theunissen finance offices after the municipality failed to pay a former manager. Photo supplied
“Now we have to see essential equipment such as laptops, printers, and the refuse removal truck being removed, which will have a serious impact on service delivery,” she added.
Masilonyana continues to fail residents in upholding their constitutional rights, she added.
The latest legal setback follows the municipality’s unsuccessful attempt to appeal a court order compelling it to pay Mokgaecho. On Friday (31/10), the court struck the municipality’s urgent application for appeal off the roll after it failed to settle the money owed to its former employee.
Mokgaecho had previously won a constructive dismissal case when the court ordered the municipality to pay the outstanding amount by last Monday, which it failed to do.
He criticised the municipality’s leadership, accusing municipal manager Mojalefa Matlole of acting against the interests of residents. “Obviously, all those cases come at a cost, and what they did is, after he filed a review, they then abandoned the process.
“It’s now almost eleven months. They have not followed up on the review that they have made.
“In terms of the rules of the labour court, their case is regarded as thrown out. I’m definitely sure that he would still want to pursue this debt case at the expense of residents of Masilonyana.”
The financially struggling municipality has battled for years to address service delivery failures, leaving many residents without access to water, electricity, and waste collection.
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