MAHIKENG, NORTH WEST — A severe North West municipal funding freeze has been implemented by the National Treasury, which has officially withheld the July equitable share transfer for multiple local governments. The financial intervention targets authorities that have consistently failed to tackle unauthorized, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure, while also neglecting to implement proper consequence management.
The funding suspension impacts 13 municipalities across the province. Among the most prominently affected are the Mahikeng and Ditsobotla local municipalities, alongside the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality. This fiscal clampdown arrives shortly after the President publicly condemned the ongoing deterioration of basic service delivery across the country.
Despite the Treasury’s strict directives, a spokesperson for the Mahikeng Local Municipality expressed surprise at being caught in the funding dragnet. The spokesperson maintained that the local authority has fully complied with all Treasury stipulations by submitting the necessary documentation. However, this administrative defense contrasts sharply with the lived realities of locals. In Extension 39, residents are grappling with uncollected refuse and crumbling internal roads, with locals noting that the poorest citizens continue to suffer the most from leadership failures.
The Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, which oversees several of the frozen local authorities, is also navigating the crisis. A spokesperson for the district confirmed they are actively reviewing the Treasury’s decision. However, a formal response regarding their compliance status has been delayed because the municipal administrator is currently on sick leave, and the mayor is away attending to a family bereavement.
The broader financial instability in the province was further underscored by the situation in the City of Matlosana. That municipality has been embroiled in severe financial controversies, notably employee complaints regarding unauthorized third-party deductions from their salaries that were never remitted to the rightful beneficiaries. During a recent visit to the area, the Minister of Finance made it unequivocally clear that the national government will not entertain bailout requests for struggling municipalities.
Meanwhile, in Ditsobotla, the community’s reaction to the funding suspension is one of resigned validation rather than shock. Residents argue that a lack of accountability has plagued the municipality for years. They point out that a national intervention, which included the appointment of an administrator, was initiated nine to ten months ago, yet it has produced zero tangible improvements in basic service delivery.
The desperation is palpable in Bladeville Extension 4, where a local resident detailed a litany of broken promises. He recounted how a local councilor initially promised electricity within 24 hours, only for the demands to continually shift, eventually citing a 200,000 financial requirement from Eskom to implement the connection. Furthermore, despite a main water pipe running directly through the area, the community had to pool their own funds to tap into the supply, only for the water to be shut off shortly after.
Living in informal shacks without consistent access to water or power, he expressed deep skepticism that the current political leadership can resolve the crisis. He suggested that the Treasury should maintain the funding suspension until after the local elections.
“Let us get the new administration, let’s say the new council, then we can see from there,” the resident urged, warning that current politicians would merely use the released funds for campaign material while leaving the community’s suffering unchanged.