By 
The image of the ruling party in the Free State province suffered an embarrassing dent last week during the joint oversight visit by the Free State Legislature and Parliament portfolio committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) chaired by Dr Zweli Mkhize.
All 23 municipalities in the province were called to account before the committee following the report the by the Auditor General (AG) which painted a bleak picture of the municipalities. The report showed that the municipalities are largely dysfunctional, lack accountability and the requisite skills to run municipalities effectively, and a number of them got disclaimers.
The African National Congress (ANC) enjoys power in the province; however, much came out during the oversight visit which was undesirable. Some municipalities had huge salary bills but could not answer what they do; service delivery is poor, with poor road conditions and streets flowing with sewerage, they owe large amounts of debt to service providers and about six municipalities are under administration.
With local government elections around the corner, the ANC cannot afford such negative publicity. The image of the party is receiving serious battering both provincial and nationally, with scandals involving Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, who is currently on special leave, to Mayors who are leading failing municipalities.
The Free State Premier Ms MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae also acknowledged that the provincial government is concerned with the state of municipalities within the province.
The truth is; we are deeply concerned about the state of our municipalities Chairperson; because of inadequate capacity, poor financial management, weak governing systems and institutional instabilities. Many of our municipalities are now in financial and administrative distress, provision of water and sanitation remains a challenge; our streets are littered with garbage, maintenance of water waste treatment plants remains a concern to us as provincial government,” said Letsoha-Mathae.
Dr Zweli Mkhize, reflecting on the state of municipalities called for urgent intervention by the provincial government to assist municipalities to get on track, he said the continued malfunctioning of municipalities must come to an end.
“We have come here to draw a line in the sand. From this point on, all of us – across local, provincial and national government – are working together to restore proper governance and ensure the public receives the services it deserves.
If there was some money that was spent the wrong way, those responsible must face disciplinary action. Internally, they must be taken on, be subjected to disciplinary processes, and if it’s criminal, there must be a proper investigation,” Dr Mkhize said.
Following the oversight visit, the ANC in the Free State will convene an urgent and special PWC meeting to precede special PEC meeting on Thursday, 31 July 2025, at its headquarters in Bloemfontein, at the Kaizer Sebothelo Building.
“The urgency is occasioned by recent developments as it pertains to a joint oversight meeting of Municipalities by the National Parliament Portfolio and the Provincial Legislature Committees (Cogta and Finance Committees), the Provincial officials meeting with Municipalities and the currently on-going PEC Road-shows to meet with 5 regions, meeting with ANC branches, ANC caucuses, churches, and community mass meetings,” said the Provincial Spokesperson for the ANC Cde Thabo Meeko.
