Business and NGOs fix city

MUNICIPALITY FAILS: PRIVATE SECTOR AND COMMUNITY STEP IN AS MANGAUNG STUMBLES >>> Pro bono pothole repairs to sustainable social enterprises are saving Bloemfontein.

- Liesl Peyper

After nearly a decade of ailing service delivery in Mangaung, businesses and communities have united to repair broken infrastructure and improve the metro’s upkeep.

Moneyweb spoke to members of the business community and not-for-profit organisations who are repairing potholes, unblocking stormwater drains and maintaining public spaces.

Chronic failure

Bloemfontein and the wider Mangaung area continue to grapple with chronic service delivery failures, highlighted once again in the auditor-eneral’s (AG) 2023-24 audit report.

Key functions such as road maintenance, wastewater treatment and landfill management are among the most affected, with the municipality able to deliver on only 37% of core responsibilities.

The AG also found that 81% of the total cash collected from customers was spent on employee-related costs, while R194 million in grant funding went unspent.

Although Mangaung has been under national intervention since December 2019 and adopted a financial recovery plan in 2023, its fiscal position remains dire and service interruptions persist.

With municipal services in collapse, businesses and residents have had to shoulder responsibilities the city can no longer deliver.

Raubex pothole project