Public amenities left to rot in this struggling municipality

Many public facilities and municipal-owned assets across the Masilonyana Local Municipality (MLM) in the Free State are in tatters.

From once-popular sports grounds, to town halls and municipal clinics, years of mismanagement have plundered many parts of iconic towns into eyesores.

The MLM within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality consists of four historic towns: Winburg, Brandfort, Verkeerdevlei, and Theunissen. Its population is roughly 65,000, with around 25,000 households.

Yet the municipality itself is in disarray. For nine consecutive years, it has received disclaimed audits from the Auditor-General (AG), reflecting what oversight bodies describe as a collapse of accountability, transparency, and leadership.

By the end of the 2023/24 financial year, the municipality had over R2.23 billion in unauthorised, fruitless, wasteful, and irregular expenditure.

A 2025 AG briefing to Parliament painted a grim picture: inaccurate financial statements, unaccounted irregular expenditure, and ineffective recovery plans.

Gregory Coetzee, Audit Manager in the AG’s Office, told the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that the AG is concerned that the municipality is not financially viable and has not implemented a financial recovery plan nor outlined strategies in the financial statements.

Coetzee said the municipality racked up R1.1 billion in unauthorised expenditure during the 2022/23 financial year alone.

He said auditors were unable to assess key aspects of the municipality’s performance, such as water losses, debt collection, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure, due to a complete lack of reporting.

Recently, Parliament’s portfolio committee on COGTA found questionable use of funds, while the municipality has failed to recover 80% of its debt and left R194 million in conditional grants unspent.

The Municipal Public Accounts Committee has not met since 2021, allowing the CFO, previously implicated in financial misconduct, to operate unchecked.

In December 2024, the Hawks and SIU raided three Masilonyana municipal offices, seizing evidence of alleged tender irregularities in water plant and sports centre projects, amid concerns of unauthorised and wasteful expenditure.

Despite provincial interventions and the appointment of consultants, dysfunction persists.

The toll on residents is stark. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in a damning report, found Masilonyana in violation of multiple constitutional and environmental laws.

It highlighted how communities endure water cuts without notice, rivers are polluted by untreated sewage, and landfill sites are run without proper oversight.

The ANC in the Free State resolved that seven mayors and speakers, including those of Masilonyana and Lejweleputswa, must resign over poor audits, failed service delivery, and corruption.

The ANC has since suspended Mayor Dimakatso Modise.

Facilities left to rot

According to Masilonyana’s 2023/24 annual report submitted to Treasury, most of the municipality’s parks and recreation public facilities are in poor condition, lack maintenance, or face significant challenges related to funding, human resources, and vandalism.

Although some funding has been dedicated over the years for maintenance, it does not seem as if it has materialised. With cash crunches crippling the municipality, these facilities are last on their list.

“There are 11 municipal parks, which are all currently not being maintained due to financial and human resource constraints,” read the report. It said that a drought also played “a big role in the non-development of parks.”

According to the report, the majority of municipal-owned sports facilities across Masilonyana are in disrepair, marked by widespread neglect, vandalism, stalled projects, and only a few operational sites.

For example, Winburg’s sports grounds are completely vandalised and dilapidated. In its suburb of Makeleketla, MIG-funded sports grounds remain incomplete, and the swimming pool is in tatters, leaving residents without usable facilities.

Speaking about the deterioration of facilities across the municipality, longtime resident, former principal and now DA councillor Brun Rossouw said that “it is nothing short of heartbreaking.”

“The Winburg Sports Grounds, for example, were never empty. Provincial rugby teams played here and schoolkids will fill the stands for athletics. The municipality did not know how to manage it.”

Schools and the private sector tried to take over the management of it, but the municipality refused

“Kids in the area are growing up with no public spaces that allow them to be kids. Instead they have to play hopscotch over sewage,” said Rossouw.

Town halls and municipal clinics not spared

Several municipal halls across Masilonyana are in urgent need of repair, with conditions ranging from fair to critical.

According to the annual report, Theunissen Hall, a provincial heritage site, is in poor condition, while Masilo and Makeleketla Halls are in “fair” condition but require renovations.

Winburg Town Hall, a national heritage site, is not fenced, heavily vandalized, and needs funding for a heritage impact study and major renovations.

The Verkeerdevlei Hall, established in 1938, is dilapidated and requires extensive work.

Brandfort Hall was not usable due to its poor condition, and no bookings were recorded for Veerkerdevlei Town Hall

Luckily, the Brandfort Hall was restored by the community with funding from the private sector.

Majwemasweu Hall needs renovations, whereas Tshepong Hall “remains in good condition.”

Between July 2023 and June 2024, a total of 160 unpaid bookings were recorded, with 71 paid bookings.

The Theunissen Hall is often a site where council meetings are held. A recent meeting among councillors had no electricity, so they used torches on their mobile phones.

The Winburg Town hall is a national heritage site, but is admittingly in a critical state. Iconic paintings in the building are being destroyed bgy both water damage and bird faeces.

The municipal clinic that was part of the town hall has been completely vandalised.

The department undertook an exercise to assess and cost the damages at all the halls in the four towns, at an estimation of R8 million.

Other images of dilapidated public ammenities