The municipality that budgeted R100 for water and sanitation infrastructure

The struggling Masilonyana Local Municipality (MLM) in the Free State had a R100 budget for water and sewerage infrastructure in 2022/23 and no clear allocation for it in 2023/24.

The Auditor General of South Africa (AG) revealed this stark reality in a briefing to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on the municipality’s audit outcomes.

It comes on the back of a damning South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) service delivery report found the municipality in repeated violation of the Constitution, the National Water Act, National Environmental Management Act, and other transgressions.

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

For years, service delivery has taken a back seat in the municipality while financial mismanagement has reigned supreme.

The AG stated in its presentation to SCOPA that over the past decade, the municipality received a disclaimed audit opinion.

It cited weak financial governance, lack of skills and awareness of controls, no consequence management, and failure to investigate irregular expenditure or establish a disciplinary board.

The municipality did not submit its recent financial statements on time and, when it eventually did, it received another disclaimed audit opinion while operating on an unfunded budget.

It failed to disclose over R1.1 billion in unauthorised expenditure from the previous year and repeated the omission in 2023/24.

MLM also recorded R112 million in irregular spending in 2023/24 without a proper register, while more than R1 billion in prior irregular expenditure was reversed with no evidence.

In addition, R39.7 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure was incurred in 2023/24, with R17.5 million from the previous year also reversed without proof.

Masilonyana failed to achieve any of its service delivery targets for the financial year either.

It underspent conditional grants by R174 million and National Treasury withheld R19 million due to slow implementation of projects.

Gregory Coetzee, Audit Manager in the AG’s Office, told SCOPA that Masilonyana there are no clear procedures for using grant funds.

In the 2022/23 financial year, the municipality’s budget for water and sewerage infrastructure was only R100, and in 2023/24, there was no clear allocation for this.

“Some spending is occurring through conditional grants, which suggests that the actual implementation is not reflected in the budget,” said Coetzee.

“This indicates a disconnect between the budget and actual operations because if National Treasury allocates funds for infrastructure, those amounts should be reflected in the budget schedules, but they are not.”

The AG warned that the municipality is financially unsustainable, with no recovery plan or strategies in its statements.

National Treasury has repeatedly flagged its unfunded budget, citing overspending on indigent support and again instructing a funded budget for 2024/25, which has not happened.

The impact on service delivery

The result of misgovernance in MLM has been severe. The SAHRC report noted that households, particularly in informal settlements, face water shortages and unannounced cuts, while landfill sites are mismanaged and run by unqualified personnel.

Chronic sewage spills in Winburg and Brandfort, coupled with collapsing wastewater treatment plants, have polluted water sources, prompting directives from the Department of Water and Sanitation.

In June, the Free State High Court ruled that MLM and its manager acted unlawfully by failing to supply residents of Winburg, Makeleketla, and Motsemotsha with safe drinking water.

The court ordered immediate measures, including water tankers, and required the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, the Free State COGTA MEC, and the Minister of Water and Sanitation to assist in fulfilling obligations.

The SAHRC expressed concern that repeated violations had necessitated legal intervention.

SAHRC commissioner Dr. Henk Boshoff told Newsday that since the report was published and court order was made, not much progress is being made and the Free State office is exploring the option of pursuing a contempt of court application.

Municipality spokesperson Zongezile Ntjwabule said MLM would comply with the judgment but highlighted the challenges of aging water and sanitation systems, including the water treatment plant and reservoirs.

Newsday observed widespread service collapse: sewage spilling into streets, football fields, and streams; untreated water entering dams; prolonged electricity and water outages; and half-finished development projects.

Residents face evening water rationing, and some newly allocated housing stands remain without power.

Municipal leaders have admitted pollution issues, including sewage leaks and water contamination, and pledged interventions like a mobile purification plant.

Resident Puthi Mohapi said, “Nobody is listening, please help us. We are suffering. Kids are walking to school through sewage.”

DA councilor Brun Rossouw noted that while financial constraints exist, the root cause is years of maladministration and a lack of consequence management.

She said that poor oversight and weak accountability have allowed officials to evade responsibility, leaving essential services and infrastructure to deteriorate unchecked.

Alleged broken billing system

Another major issue in the municipality is the billing system. Marieta Visser, another councilor in the municipality, said that she has been inundated with complaints of incredibly inflated municipal accounts.

Noting that the municipality collects only around 9% of its revenue, Visser said that the evidence is mounting that Masilonyana has been giving arbitrary bills to residents and businesses, “possibly to give the illusion that they are raising money.”

One resident informed Newsday that they had received a formal notice that the electric connection to their property in Winburg will be disconnected due to non-payment of the municipal account of approximately R178,000.

“This is an obvious mistake by the municipality, and it took us four visits during the past 12 months to the municipal offices in Winburg and Theunissen to highlight the various mistakes on the account with a promise each and every time that the problem will be rectified.”

“Nothing has happened to date, only a threat that due to non-payment the service will be cut.” The resident said that many residents received similar notifications, leaving them “now in dire straits.”

Visser said that “the most critical question is—who is benefiting from this broken billing system?”

More chaos and government response

On 16 September 2025, MLM mayor Dimakatso Modise was suspended from the ANC pending a disciplinary process for “defiance of the ANC constitution.”

This follows her alleged refusal to step down after a redeployment decision due to ongoing governance failures.

Newsday could not get a response from MLM nor the ANC in the Free State.

A follow-up delegation of SCOPA and the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) further probed issues in Masilonyana and other municipalites.

In this meeting, Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae announced a three-month investigation in Masilonyana, supported by the MEC for Finance.

SCOPA chairperson Songezo Zibi told Newsday that a report has been drafted on the municipalities, which will likely be tabled within the next week or so.

“From there, binding recommendations are made, particularly for the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which we will monitor closely.”

He said that he is going to ensure that oversight is continuous, with more visits in the pipeline to ensure that services are rendered to residents.

SCOPA members highlighted Masilonyana’s dysfunctional finances and called for urgent action.

EFF MP Chumani Matiwane blamed poor council oversight by the incumbuncy, low-quality management information, and dereliction of duty by mayors and speakers for governance collapse.

ANC MP Helen Neale-May echoed concerns about a collapse in financial accountability, wasteful spending, and poor bookkeeping, calling for stronger interventions such as Section 139 measures.

Modise’s IDP prioritises water, sanitation, refuse removal, and road upgrades, though residents remain sceptical about improvements. It is still unclear whether she remains in office, given her disputed party suspension.

Winburg is losing: A historic South African town in distress

• Headline image: Children in Makeleketla walking past pools of sewage near their homes. Photo – Seth Thorne