SAMWU CAUTIOUSLY WELCOMES ADMINISTRATION OF MATLOSANA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

11 February 2026

SAMWU CAUTIOUSLY WELCOMES ADMINISTRATION OF MATLOSANA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the North West Province notes and cautiously welcome the decision of the African National Congress (ANC) Provincial Leadership to direct its deployees to intervene in the City of Matlosana Local Municipality and to place the municipality under administration in terms of Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.

This intervention comes after a prolonged period of governance paralysis, financial collapse and administrative decay. SAMWU aligns itself with the position articulated by COSATU North West, which correctly identifies that the crisis in Matlosana has not been accidental, but the result of sustained failures in leadership, weak consequence management, financial mismanagement and the erosion of institutional accountability.The continued deterioration of service delivery, coupled with administrative instability, has fundamentally undermined the constitutional values of transparency, accountability and responsiveness.

The intervention is both lawful and necessary. Section 139 of the Constitution empowers provincial government to act where a municipality cannot or does not fulfil its executive obligations. Furthermore, Section 154 places a duty on national and provincial government to support and strengthen municipalities to manage their own affairs. The situation in Matlosana clearly meets the threshold for such action.

Municipal workers have been the primary victims of the collapse in governance at Matlosana. The failure to pay salaries for several months and the non-payment of pension fund contributions for over fourteen months constitute a gross violation of labour rights and statutory obligations.

These failures are in direct contravention of Section 34 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act and Section 23 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to fair labour practices. Withholding pension contributions not only violates the law but places workers’ long-term financial security in jeopardy, it is a betrayal of workers’ trust and dignity. SAMWU therefore expects the intervention team to prioritise the immediate regularisation of all outstanding salaries, pension contributions and statutory deductions. Workers cannot continue to subsidise incompetence through their own suffering.

We further note with serious concern the allegations of fraud and corruption levelled against the former Chief Financial Officer, including the alleged irregular payment of public funds for goods not delivered.

We welcome confirmation that the intervention team has been empowered to implement the findings of the Section 106 investigation in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000. Consequence management must be decisive, impartial and visible. It must not be diluted by political protectionism or factional considerations. This is required not only by Section 195 of the Constitution, which sets out the basic values and principles governing public administration. Failure to act decisively will only deepen public mistrust and reinforce perceptions of impunity.

While SAMWU supports the intervention, we caution that administration alone will not restore public confidence. The ANC must simultaneously undertake meaningful political renewal and rebuild trust with workers and communities who have endured persistent governance failures. The organisation’s own constitutional objectives on democratic governance and accountability require that it leads by example, acts decisively against corruption and ensures that deployees serve the people, not factional or personal interests.

If renewal is not felt at ground level, interventions risk becoming temporary technical exercises rather than transformative political corrections.

As SAMWU, we will closely monitor the work of the intervention team, while also engaging with the provincial and municipal management to ensure full compliance with labour laws. Additionally, we will want to ensure that salaries and benefits of employees are paid on time and in full.

Issued by SAMWU North West Province

Vincent Diphoko
Provincial Secretary
083 580 8815

Or

Jeannett Molefe
Deputy Provincial Secretary
083 384 6121