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Residents in the Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM) are unhappy with the ludicrous increases on municipal accounts received in January 2024 with unaffordable amounts. Some of the residents received estimated accounts for the previous 6 months. This is after the contract with the previous service provider responsible for meter readings expired at the end of August 2023. According to the municipal credit control policy Section 9.1, “The Municipality shall provide all customers with a monthly account for municipal service rendered, which account shall be generated monthly in cycles of approximately thirty (30) days.”

Residents received a notice requesting them to take their readings and submit them via email. A multitude of residents did submit their readings, but it was not captured because of the Ransomware attack on the information system in October 2023. Certain residents confirmed that, according to the municipality, the first readings were taken on 1 January 2024, but CCTV camera footage revealed no such action by municipal officials was taken. No communication in this regard was released by the municipality.

Additionally, various residents have applied for prepaid water meters during the past 3 financial years. The MMM has, however, failed to appoint a contractor due to ongoing disputes between a specific contractor and metro management. During the ordinary council meeting held on 29 January 2024, the Section 80 committee whip, Qondile Peter admitted that there are still issues with the billing system that remain unresolved.

In December 2023, Mchiliteni Fofota Investments was awarded the tender for the procurement of water meter reading services, conventional and prepaid meters, and cleaning of water meter audit services as the need arises. The total unit cost of R 13,50 per reading with an available budget of R 4 299 598,46 with the tender ending 30 June 2026.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned that the appointed contractor’s company was registered in 2018 and the only Director, Phulusho Agape Maluka, is only 27 years old. The business is registered at 4860 Bloemside Phase 2, Heidedal, Bloemfontein which is only an area with no mentioned street name.

In addition, Mchiliteni Fofota Investments was awarded the R 4,610,491.54 tender for the construction of the Hauweng bus shelters, for the route from Hoffman Square to the Free State University (UFS), during the first phase of the project. The DA could only identify 8 bus shelters on the mentioned route. This tender was awarded to them, even though the company was almost deregistered due to non-compliance with annual tax. A lack of an annual report and failure to pay its annual fees to keep the PTY as a legitimate entity.

In April 2022, the previous Minister of Transport, Fakile Mbalula, requested a forensic audit investigation into the controversial multimillion-rand Integrated Transport Network (IPTN) project. It’s alleged that the metro has missed at least six deadlines during phase 1 needed to complete the IPTN project. After numerous warnings by the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport, the project is said to have cost the ailing metro at least R2 billion in ratepayer revenue, since its inception in 2016, with feasibility studies that are said to have started in 2011, including accruals that have run into the millions.

The MMM remains under administration and last week the Auditor General tabled a qualified opinion for the annual report stating that there is no contract supervision in the metro. The DA urges residents to vote for the DA in the upcoming National and Provincial elections to stop corruption and tenderpreneurs from becoming millionaires for services not rendered.

Issued by Dirk Kotze - DA Councillor Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality