VILJOENSKROON, Free State — As the Local Government Elections draw near, the African Liberation Movement (ALM) is making service delivery in the Free State a central pillar of its campaign. The emerging political party is zeroing in on persistent infrastructure deficits, including incomplete pavement projects, water shortages, and sanitation failures in Rammulotsi and Viljoenskroon, positioning itself as a direct alternative to established political entities.
Founded in September of last year, the ALM has rapidly expanded its footprint across the Free State, Gauteng, and North West. Mojalefa Nkala, the ALM Free State Chairperson and electoral candidate, argued that the party’s creation was a direct response to the unfulfilled promises of existing leadership. Nkala emphasized that local government remains the most critical sphere for resolving community-level service delivery challenges, criticizing past administrations for failing to execute their own plans.
“There are many political parties who have promised people many things,” Nkala stated. “We have come from other political parties, and the reason we formed this organization is that we were forced to, because those leading before were failing to implement their plans. They were talking left and walking right.”
On the ground, the grievances are stark and long-standing. Community members report enduring years of neglected roads, unreliable electricity, and inadequate sanitation. One elderly female resident described the daily reality of having to construct makeshift toilets and resorting to outdoor cooking fires due to frequent power outages and inconsistent waste removal.
Echoing this frustration, a male resident called on the electorate to vote for genuinely capable leaders, warning that for three decades, successive administrations have simply passed an overwhelming burden of neglect onto the next. “They mustn’t just go to the elections to choose people that are not willingly and capable of leading the people,” he urged.
Thulani Snail, ALM Regional Secretary and Moqhaka candidate, outlined a strict mandate for the party’s nominees: unwavering accountability to the voters. Highlighting core campaign issues such as unemployment, waste management, water access, and sanitation, Snail promised a drastic internal overhaul if elected.
“First, we have to clean the house because you cannot live in a dirty house,” Snail asserted, vowing to sweep out the dysfunction within municipal offices. He assured the community that the ALM’s actions will prioritize public benefit over individual gain, marking a necessary shift in local governance to “change the reality.”
Addressing the mounting pressure, the Moqhaka Local Municipality acknowledged that while the majority of Viljoenskroon and Rammulotsi residents have water access, elevated areas continue to face supply interruptions. Municipal spokesperson Dika Kheswa confirmed that water tankering is currently being deployed to affected zones while broader solutions are developed.
Kheswa detailed a major infrastructure initiative, stating the municipality has embarked on a R34 million to R40 million project to expand storage capacity at local recovery dams. He explained that resolving the water crisis is intrinsically linked to fixing the area’s sanitation woes, including the prevalence of pit and dry toilets, as the two issues “go hand in glove.”
“Once the water issue is resolved, we will be able to connect the boreholes to the pressure tower, which will definitely respond to the issue of the pit toilets and the dry sanitation,” Kheswa explained. However, he conceded that the final timeframe for this larger water infrastructure project remains unconfirmed due to ongoing delays.
With the electoral race heating up, the African Liberation Movement joins a crowded field of parties vying for community trust. Voters in the Moqhaka region are increasingly signaling that their support hinges on one clear demand: leaders who can transform campaign rhetoric into tangible, accountable service delivery.
