By Maluti-A-Phofung (MAP) Local Municipality in the Free State is notorious for its lack of service delivery, high debts and its financial woes. Residents in the Harrismith and Kestell area have taken active part in calling for a separate municipality that will be economically viable.
The New Greater Harrismith Association has approached the High Court in Gauteng to review the decision of the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) taken in July this year not to de-algamate Maluti-A-Phofung Local Municipality.
The decision by MDB goes against its very own research report dated December 2024, which concluded and recommended the split of MAP which will have far more reaching financial and economic advantages. The research showed that the advantages to split MAP outweigh the disadvantages.
The MDB said in its report; “It is recommended that the Board considers implementing option A, the de-amalgamation of Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality and the establishment of two municipalities: the first one in the Harrismith/Kestell area and the second one in the Phuthaditjhaba/Qwaqwa area as proposed in DEM7681.”
“The Democratic Alliance in the Free State actively supports the New Greater Harrismith Association’s Review Application in the Gauteng High Court on the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), requesting the court to review and set aside the decision taken by the MDB on 30 July this year,” said Dr Roy Jankielsohn, the DA Leader in the Free State.
Jankielsohn affirmed their support for the split of MAP into smaller municipalities that will be manageable. He said the Greater Harrismith Association is acting on behalf of the residents of Harrismith, Intabazwe, Tshiame, Kestell and Thlolong.
The DA Leader said the request to the MDB was for Wards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 22 of Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality to establish a local government that is financially viable, able to fulfil its constitutional obligations, grow the local economy, and create jobs.
Jankielsohn says the area can no longer bear the burden of the large Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality, which is one of the 10 most distressed municipalities in South Africa and is wholly unable to fulfil its obligations. The MDB’s own 2023 research report reaches the same conclusion, and the reasons for ignoring this research are a mystery.
“The MDB’s 1999 decision to create the vast and cumbersome municipality of Maluti-A-Phofung from four transitional councils, which included the former homeland of QwaQwa, was flawed from the beginning. Creating an economically unviable municipality of Maluti-A-Phofung Municipality was illogical. Currently, the Maluti-A-Phofung municipality owes MAP Water R500 336 224,00 and Eskom over R9.7 billion. By November 2025, the municipality was only able to spend 8% of its R199.5 million Municipal Infrastructure Grant allocation due to the lack of capacity,” said Dr Roy Jankielsohn.
“The MDB has an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and create a new municipality that has a greater chance of success in terms of financial viability.
Given the current dysfunctionality and inability to deliver services of most municipalities in the Free State, which include multiple towns and rural and urban areas, it is important to re-examine municipal boundaries in order to make municipalities smaller and more manageable in terms of service delivery,” he continued.
