He made the remarks on Friday (29/5) during the official handover of the municipality’s Financial Recovery Plan (FRP), aimed at restoring stability and improving service delivery in the troubled municipality.

Godongwana was welcomed by North West MEC for treasury, Kenetswe Mosenogi, mayor Molefe Morutse, the intervention team led by Kopung Ralikontsane, and the National Cabinet Representative.

Addressing officials and stakeholders, Godongwana explained that municipal staff should serve as the interface between the municipality and the community.

“How a municipality is perceived is determined by the lived experience of the community. During the deputy president’s outreach visit to Distobotla earlier this month.

“Several complaints against municipal staff were made by the business community, including assertions that staff do not work for more than ten days in a month, staff are often seen at parks during work hours drinking alcohol, and so forth.”

Government must consider changing “where tyres are flat or need replacing” as part of efforts to turn around the dire state of the municipality, said Godongwana.

‘Symbol of dysfunction’

In recent years, Ditsobotla has gained notoriety as a symbol of dysfunction, frequently making headlines for political infighting, administrative instability, and what many have described as a near-collapse of basic services.

Residents have endured erratic refuse removal, unreliable water and electricity supply, and prolonged governance disputes that have repeatedly stalled operations.

Analysts said the crisis runs deeper than administrative shortcomings, pointing instead to entrenched factional battles within the ANC. These divisions have reportedly filtered into municipal structures, leaving the council largely ineffective and unable to execute its mandate.

The ongoing power struggles have also resulted in high turnover at senior management level, with several municipal managers resigning or being removed within short periods, further destabilising governance.

Earlier this month, deputy president Paul Mashatile visited the ailing municipality to lead the inter-ministerial committee on service delivery, which aims to provide a platform for the government to directly address Ditsobotla’s pressing challenges.

Councillors and employees of the struggling municipality have a responsibility to project a professional image to the public if they expect residents to have confidence in them, Godongwana added.

The intervention deployed to Ditsobotla is intended to help fix the malfunctioning municipality and restore it to a level where it is able to provide basic services to residents, he emphasised.

 OFM News/Kekeletsoi Mosebetsi dg

• Have a news tip to share? Phone or whatsapp the OFM News Hotline: 066 487 1427.