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Mail & Guardian

Maluti A Phofung

latest news & developments
On the job: Maluti-a-Phofung municipal workers attending to electricity connections in the area. Photo: Maluti-a-Phofung Communications
CORRUPTION

Thugs cut power, demand villagers pay

Criminals are allegedly extorting residents when the FS municipality fails to cough up for work they submitted claims for but that was never done

  • Lunga Mzangwe
3 min read
African Content Movement (ACM) leader Hlaudi Motsoeneng is being approached by other political parties in the council to take over from ANC mayor Malekula Melato.
2026 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

ACM leader Hlaudi Motsoeneng being lobbied for Maluti-a-Phofung mayor role

Motsoeneng says he wants to “take over properly” as coalition talks continue in the troubled Maluti-a-Phofung municipality

  • Lunga Mzangwe
4 min read
The ANC is considering legal action after a turbulent Maluti-a-Phofung council meeting in which mayor Malekula Melato was removed, amid claims of a flawed process and a leaked EFF recording.(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AFRICAN CONTENT MOVEMENT

Inside the EFF Free State plot to remove Maluti-a-Phofung mayor

In a voice note obtained by the Mail & Guardian, a senior EFF leader is heard saying they would give councillors different coloured pens to identify how they voted and that…

  • Lunga Mzangwe
6 min read
ANC

ANC in QwaQwa allegedly organised “township thugs” armed with knives to disrupt mayor’s removal

A councillor said police had to be brought in to stop the disruptions

  • Lunga Mzangwe
3 min read
The Constitutional Court will rule on whether parliament acted lawfully when it rejected a Section 89 panel report recommending an impeachment inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal
AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Ramaphosa to crack the whip in the Free State

The president will meet the provincial executive to discuss the state of the province’s municipalities

  • Lunga Mzangwe
1 min read
Tools of the trade: When the city manager took up his position, the electricity department had one bakkie to cover Qwaqwa. He has since equipped the municipality with the needed vehicles.
ELECTRICITY OUTAGES

Prisoners, parolees and ghost workers on municipality payroll

Maluti-a-Phofung city manager Mzwakhe Mofokeng is on the warpath to stamp out rampant and entrenched corruption bringing the town to its knees

  • Lunga Mzangwe
8 min read
At least 99 voters have deregistered from the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) voter’s roll in the Free State over the past year. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
2021 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

ANC cries sabotage as 99 voters deregister from IEC’s Free State roll amid R7000 bribery allegations

Most people usually simply stay away on voting day

  • Lunga Mzangwe
8 min read
A water tanker in Phuthaditjhaba, Free State. The province’s lack of reliable services is scuppering the tourism industry. File photo (Delwyn Verasamy)
CLARENS TOURISM

Free State tourism growth hampered by poor municipal services, says MEC Toto Makume

Some municipalities fail to provide a reliable supply of basic services such as water and electricity

  • Lunga Mzangwe
3 min read
In deep water: Tankers carrying water are used to deliver water yet dams such as Fika-Patso remain full. Photos: Delwyn Verasamy
CORRUPTION

‘Water tanker mafia’ in Free State making a killing from desperate residents

The Maluti-a-Phofung municipality’s failure to provide people with water results in locals having to pay thousands of rand for water to private suppliers

  • Kimberley Schoeman
10 min read
Selective: The Freedom Front Plus, whose posters hang in the streets of Danville in Pretoria, says it is contesting all eight metros but believes it can be a kingmaker in Tshwane. Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
ABANTU INTEGRITY MOVEMENT

Municipal elections: Smaller parties battle for kingmaker status

They will most likely punch above their weight in municipalities to gain leverage from the ANC and DA in next month’s local government elections.

  • Lizeka Tandwa
7 min read
Minister of Police Bheki Cele announces the social restrictions the government has put in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus, in line with the Disaster Management Act. (Gallo Images/ Phill Magakoe)
BEITBRIDGE BORDER POST

Covid-19 disrupts government in SA

The government has put stringent measures in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and the National Assembly, provincial outreach programmes and municipalities have had to…

  • Selloane Khalane
4 min read
Mail & Gaurdian
AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS WOMEN

Editorial: Promises are on tap, but not water

Promises of hope and a better tomorrow await South Africa. Yet they continue to come to naught

  • Editorial
3 min read
All articles in this week’s M&G are free to read
AYANDA DLODLO

Unembargoed: August 17 to 23

When Eskom pulls the plug: Businesses and locals are hard hit by blackouts because local government owes the power utility billions of rand

  • Mg Reporter
8 min read