Maluti-A-Phofung and Ngwathe mayors escape the chop

The ANC has taken an unprecedented move by axing seven mayors, chief whips and speakers from the worst-performing municipalities in Free State.

- By Bongani Mdakane

The party took a decision to remove the troikas due to the service delivery failures.

The councillors from Mafube, Moqhaka, Letsemeng, Nketoana, Nala, Masilonyana and Lejweleputswa were shown the door following failure to execute projects that benefit residents and businesses in these municipalities.

At the heart of the crisis is that all these municipalities service more than 1-million people combined, but have been flagged as dysfunctional by the Auditor-General for several years now. However, the equally poorly performing municipalities of Maluti-A-Phofung and Ngwathe escaped the axe by the skin of their teeth.

Last week, Sunday World visited Maluti-A-Phofung, where the condition of roads is an eyesore.

Maintenance work on the road from Phuthaditjhaba to Bolata has been abandoned for months. Piles of rocks had been placed on the road, and motorists had been forced to turn one lane into two to navigate potholes.