The Free State provincial government has lost its appeal to set aside a Bloemfontein High Court ruling compelling it to place the troubled Matjhabeng Local Municipality under administration.

This comes after the Democratic Alliance (DA) took the government to court, when repeated calls to have the municipality placed under administration fell on deaf ears.

The DA and the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) have long argued that the municipality has effectively collapsed, with its finances in shambles, and demanded that it be taken over by an administrator.

SAMMU has since welcomed the latest ruling and the decision by the government to grudgingly implement it, saying the decision to place the municipality under administration is long overdue.

“This development exposes the painful truth that without this legal challenge, rampant corruption and maladministration, and the complete collapse of services would have continued unabated. This intervention follows years of catastrophic governance failures, financial mismanagement, and the systemic deterioration of essential services which have left municipal workers unpaid and residents without reliable access to water, electricity, and basic sanitation.

“While we acknowledge this as a necessary step towards stabilising the municipality, we must express our serious concerns regarding the continued presence of Mayor Thanduxolo Khalipha, whose leadership has become synonymous with corruption, maladministration, and the deliberate undermining of municipal operations,” the union said.

It added that Matjhabeng’s current crisis stems primarily from Khalipha’s conscious decision to treat public resources as his personal property, disregarding both legal obligations and the needs of the community he was elected to serve.

“The fact that this intervention only materialised after court action by the opposition reveals the ANC’s fundamental failure in its oversight role. The glaring contradiction within the ANC-led provincial government’s approach cannot be ignored. While the ANC in the province has been fully aware of Mayor Khalipha’s alleged misconduct – including the misappropriation of public funds, violations of procurement processes, and the systematic deterioration of service delivery – they only acted when compelled by the courts.”