The ANC provincial working committee in the Free State has been accused of defying the party’s deployees in government, resulting in the near collapse of the Matjhabeng local municipality.
Sources say provincial chairperson Mxolisi Dukwana and secretary Polediso Motsoeneng have used their political power to undermine premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae’s intervention in the municipality, which is currently under partial administration.
Motsoeneng and Dukwana have pushed back against the province’s intervention to protect their financial interests in the municipality, the sources told the Mail & Guardian.
This, they said, has in turn rendered mayor Thanduxolo Khalipha untouchable, allowing him to act without consequences.
The municipality has for years failed to provide adequate water and sanitation to residents or efficiently collect revenue from customers, while contracts have been awarded to companies that have not completed or properly executed their work. It is also struggling to service its debts, leading to a court ordered and mandatory financial recovery plan.
Several people have allegedly died under mysterious circumstances after raising concerns about corruption within the municipality, sources with intimate knowledge of the matter said, adding that this had deterred potential whistleblowers who feared for their lives.
“We are apprehensive about consuming food and water in public venues due to uncertainty. The former municipal manager drank water at an event and complained of chest pains and passed away thereafter. Some individuals have allegedly been killed for highlighting corruption,” one of several sources said.
A company responsible for water meter billing in the municipality was initially terminated upon the expiration of its contract but was later placed on a month-to-month agreement.
The municipality then appointed a new revenue enhancement company, allegedly paying it R2 million monthly. The new company utilises municipal offices and phones to make calls to residents, urging them to pay for services and issuing estimated bills, which residents often dispute.
Before the new company arrived, the municipality was collecting about 65% of revenue from service users but this has now fallen to about 51%, sources said.
The municipality’s recent purchase of two vacuum jet sewer trucks at an inflated price of R20 million has also raised concerns, as both vehicles have begun to experience mechanical issues, with one already inoperable.
“The municipality allegedly acquires trucks through auctions from other municipalities and then takes them to a workshop to be repainted so they appear new. Recently, some trucks were taken to the licensing department to be registered after it was claimed they were new, only for the registration system to reject them because some belonged to other municipalities,” one source said.
Another source said the main problem in Matjhabeng was that the ANC leadership was undermining the premier’s intervention directives.
“Those in government make recommendations to the PWC (provincial working committee) about what needs to happen in municipalities but the PWC then approaches deployees and instructs them according to its own agenda,” they said.
“The problem is that the premier is not the ANC chairperson; Dukwana is. As a result, even when the premier makes decisions, the PWC can overrule her because they are the ones who deployed her.”
In a report dated January 2026, a provincial executive council representative at Matjhabeng, Makalo Mohale, raised serious concerns about the municipality’s finances and governance, including R6 billion to Eskom and R7 billion to Vaal Central Water. The auditor general has issued qualified opinions for the past three years.
In the report, Mohale also highlighted irregular contracts, a dysfunctional disciplinary board, 70 default judgments against the municipality, collapsed infrastructure, excessive sewer spillages and water leakages and low maintenance spending at 1.2% of the budget versus the 8% norm.
Mohale told M&G this week that the municipality had failed to implement any of his recommendations and his reports were simply ignored.
“They refuse; they are defiant. But I do not stop — I continue telling them what must be done. I have escalated the matter to the executive council to consider other avenues,” he said.
Mohale however could not confirm whether senior politicians or their allies were benefiting from municipal contracts.
“I am not in a position to confirm or even raise a suspicion because I have not received the basic information that would allow me to do so. If I had, I could perhaps identify companies I suspect to be linked,” he said.
In a media briefing after her State of the Province address last week, premier Letsoha-Mathae said the provincial government had been compelled to intervene in Matjhabeng after the Democratic Alliance took the municipality to court.
“I was in Matjhabeng two weeks ago to visit families affected by the conditions we are seeing there. We engaged with contractors on site to understand the scope of work. We are also working closely with the departments of water and sanitation and the CEO of Vaal Central to ensure we improve people’s lives,” she said.
She said the problems facing the municipality were ageing infrastructure and population growth, compounded by weak leadership.
“Where there is no leadership, people will do as they wish. Even completing projects on time becomes a problem. I am monitoring Matjhabeng very closely and visit fortnightly to ensure that we deliver and improve the lives of our people,” Letsoha-Mathae said.
“We need serious intervention in Matjhabeng and we need it now. We must work together across departments to ensure delivery.”
Motsoeneng denied allegations that he or any member of his family had benefitted financially or otherwise from the Matjhabeng municipality through a company doing business there.
“I have nothing to do with the alleged corruption in Matjhabeng municipality that involves me. I am the guardian of the ANC’s resolutions, including the fight against corruption and malfeasance,” he told the M&G.
“I am the secretary of a political party and have no authority to interfere in the affairs of the government. Where does the provincial secretary derive the power to instruct deployees to defy a legally authorised intervention above the collective he leads?”
Dukwana conceded that in the past, some companies had allegedly received money from the municipality without doing any work, but insisted this was before Khalipha’s tenure. He said the allegations against him were baseless and faceless and that those raising them knew they were not telling the truth.
“When things changed, some of the people who had been benefiting — including some union leaders — were affected. There was even a loan shark company, and some people were benefiting at the expense of workers,” he said.
“Workers were drowning in debt and ended up depending on overtime. When Khalipha came in, he addressed the situation, which had been creating problems. People then started calling for his removal because they were no longer getting what they used to get.”
Dukwana said after Khalipha’s intervention, critics began accusing him of various offences in an attempt to have him removed from his position. When they realised this was not succeeding, they allegedly implicated both Dukwana and Motsoeneng, claiming they were benefiting through companies doing work for the municipality, he claimed.
“I don’t have any company that I work with. People can investigate and do whatever they need to do — I have nothing to hide. The problem is that people do not want to take responsibility for the mess in the municipality,” he said.
“Khalipha is not an angel; there are challenges he is facing. But they cannot expect us, simply because they shout the loudest, to act and remove Khalipha. We are busy with an intervention in that municipality. My interest is the organisation. There are people who do not deserve to be in the positions they occupy.”
Mayoral spokesperson Tsediso Tlali rejected claims that the municipality is withholding financial information, saying such allegations create a false narrative that undermines the constitutional recovery process.
He said the financial recovery plan is implemented through a broader intergovernmental framework involving the municipality, the provincial executive and treasury and reaffirmed the municipality’s commitment to transparency and lawful governance.
Tlali also dismissed allegations of inflated prices for two sewer trucks procured on 30 June 2025, stating they were lawfully acquired through an accredited treasury provider under the RT57 transversal contract, in full compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act and supply chain regulations.
He said comparisons to a cheaper model are misleading, as the purchased units have higher specifications and are fully operational.
Tlali rejected claims that the mayor ignores residents during imbizos, saying community members are given opportunities to raise concerns and receive direct responses, with follow-up visits conducted where necessary.
The ANC provincial working committee in the Free State has been accused of defying the party’s deployees in government, resulting in the near collapse of the Matjhabeng local municipality. Sources say provincial chairperson Mxolisi Dukwana and secretary Polediso Motsoeneng have used their political power to undermine premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae’s intervention in the municipality, which is
