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The offices of the Mafube Local Municipality in the Free State.
Employees of the Mafube Municipality in the Free State are likely to have a bleak Christmas as they have not received salaries for three months.
National Treasury has withheld the municipality’s equitable share due to non-compliance with financial requirements.
Workers held a protest outside the municipal offices on Thursday, demanding salary payments.
Provincial South African Municipal Workers Union Secretary, Thabang Tseuoa, says they want a full investigation to be instituted into how funds are run in the municipality, and are calling for an immediate payment of salaries.
“It is our belief that this is not an accident but a result of years of financial collapse, weak revenue base, mismanagement and complete failure of those who are supposed to run the municipality. Mafube has been under administration by GOGTA for a number of years and under this intervention, the situation has worsened. Now, the National Treasury has withheld the equitable share because the municipality has failed to comply with financial requirements, and workers are being punished for leadership failures.”
