SAMWU CONDEMNS COLLAPSING SERVICE DELIVERY AND REJECTS THE DIS-ESTABLISHMENT OF MAPWATER

May 11, 2026 adminPress

11 May 2026

Following the SAMWU-led MAP Water march held last Friday at the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality, the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Maluti-a-Phofung Region its deep concern regarding the continued collapse of basic services and the municipality’s reckless pursuit of the dis-establishment of MAP Water.

Workers and community members who participated in the march once again witnessed the deepening crisis confronting the municipality, including persistent electricity disruptions, collapsing infrastructure, water shortages, sewage spillages, deteriorating roads, refuse removal failures, and worsening administrative instability. These failures continue to undermine the dignity and livelihoods of residents across Maluti-a-Phofung and expose the municipality’s inability to fulfil its constitutional obligations to communities.

It is therefore both alarming and irrational that a municipality which has demonstrably failed to effectively manage its existing responsibilities now seeks to absorb MAP Water into an already dysfunctional administration. The continued pursuit of this process raises serious questions regarding the municipality’s institutional capacity, governance integrity, and the true intentions behind the proposed dis-establishment of MAP Water.

For years, communities in QwaQwa, Harrismith, Kestell and surrounding areas have endured unreliable water supply despite billions of rand having been spent on water infrastructure projects. Entire communities continue to depend on water tankers and boreholes while ageing infrastructure remains neglected and water losses through leakages remain unresolved. At the same time, the municipality’s escalating debt to Eskom continues to cripple service delivery and threaten economic activity in the region.

SAMWU is further deeply concerned by the decision allegedly taken by the Municipal Council on Friday to second the Municipal Manager to act as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MAP Water in the absence of a duly constituted Board of Directors.

The Union believes that this decision raises serious legal, governance and constitutional concerns, particularly in relation to compliance with the Municipal Systems Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), principles of good governance, and the statutory separation between a parent municipality and its municipal entities.

MAP Water is a municipal entity established in terms of legislation and cannot simply be treated as an extension of the municipality’s political and administrative machinery. The decision to place the Municipal Manager — who already serves as the accounting officer and administrative head of the municipality — into the position of Acting CEO of MAP Water fundamentally undermines principles of accountability, oversight, institutional independence and governance separation.

SAMWU believes that this arrangement creates a serious conflict of interest and potentially exposes both the municipality and MAP Water to significant governance and financial risks, particularly in relation to procurement oversight, financial accountability, reporting lines, operational independence, and compliance with the MFMA and Municipal Systems Act.

The Union is particularly disturbed that such a far-reaching decision appears to have been taken in the absence of transparency, meaningful stakeholder consultation, and legal certainty regarding the applicable legislative framework.

The municipality itself has consistently failed to fill critical and mandatory senior management positions, including the Director: Corporate Services, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Director: Public Safety, Director: Housing, Director: Sports and Recreation, Director: Community Services, and several other strategic and compliance-critical posts. Similarly, within MAP Water, key strategic vacancies remain unfilled, including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Executive Manager: Operations, and Executive Manager: Corporate Services.

These are mandatory positions which should have been filled urgently in line with National Treasury regulations, Auditor-General recommendations, and sound governance principles. The failure to appoint competent leadership lies squarely with the Municipal Council and Municipal Manager, who have failed in their oversight responsibilities while simultaneously attempting to portray MAP Water as a liability.

SAMWU further wishes to place on record that the municipality owes the water entity millions of rand while deliberately failing to adequately resource and financially support the very institution tasked with providing clean and potable water to the people of Maluti-a-Phofung. It is therefore disingenuous for the municipality to manufacture a narrative that MAP Water is solely responsible for the water crisis while the parent municipality itself has directly contributed to the entity’s financial distress through neglect, political interference, and chronic underfunding.

The Union also condemns the wasteful use of public funds on external legal services through Phambane Attorneys and Consultants for processes regulated in terms of Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act, read together with Sections 76–80 of the Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act.

This is despite the municipality already employing internal legal personnel, including two advocates, two lawyers, as well as fully established Human Resources and Corporate Services departments capable of handling these matters internally.

Even more concerning is the apparent lack of legal and procedural certainty within the municipality itself regarding whether the process constitutes Section 189 retrenchments, Section 197 transfers, Section 197A transfers relating to restructuring, liquidation, or transfer of employees as a going concern. Such confusion exposes workers to unacceptable levels of uncertainty and demonstrates the municipality’s reckless approach to a matter with profound implications for labour rights, water security, and public service delivery.

SAMWU strongly condemns the exclusion of MAP Water management and other relevant stakeholders from due diligence processes, despite legislative requirements for transparency, consultation, and procedural fairness.

The Union believes that dismantling MAP Water without first addressing the municipality’s broader governance failures, corruption, political instability, financial mismanagement, and administrative collapse will only deepen the humanitarian and service delivery crisis already confronting residents.

Workers cannot be sacrificed to conceal governance failures. Communities cannot continue paying the price for political expediency, corruption, and reckless administrative decisions.

SAMWU therefore calls upon the Free State Provincial Government, National COGTA, National Treasury, the Department of Water and Sanitation, SALGA, and all relevant oversight institutions to urgently intervene before irreversible damage is inflicted on water services, workers’ job security, and public confidence in local government institutions.

The Union further calls for the immediate release of:

· the Council resolution relating to the secondment of the Municipal Manager;

· all legal opinions relied upon;

· governance and due diligence reports; and

· the legislative basis upon which such decisions are being implemented.

The people of Maluti-a-Phofung deserve accountable leadership, stable governance, and sustainable public services — not political experiments that threaten to collapse one of the last remaining functional service entities within the municipality.

SAMWU remains resolute in defending workers, protecting quality public services, and ensuring that all decisions affecting the people of Maluti-a-Phofung are transparent, lawful, and in the best interests of the community.

Issued by SAMWU Thabo Mofutsanyana Region

Hopolang Lebuso Regional Secretary 063 121 7211

Thabo Thebe Regional Deputy Secretary 079 454 6403