Staff reporter
Bloemfontein – The financially strained Free State municipality is poised to incur further significant losses, with assets valued at hundreds of thousands at risk of attachment.
This development comes as four additional court orders to attach assets of the Theunissen-based Masilonyana Local Municipality are set to be enforced.
The debts owed to individuals and service providers total millions of rands.
On Thursday, January 16, 2025, assets valued at R450,000 were attached by the deputy sheriff of the court. The attached assets include:
- An Isuzu truck valued at R300,000
- A Mitsubishi bakkie valued at R40,000
- A Nissan bakkie valued at R40,000
- A Toyota Etios valued at R40,000
These attachments follow a civil litigation victory by former legal officer Itumeleng Mogaecho against the troubled municipality. Mogaecho had taken the municipality to the labour bargaining council in 2023 over unfair labour practices and constructive dismissal claims. After emerging victorious, he was granted an order to attach assets due to the municipality’s failure to pay the settlement within the stipulated timeframe.
The latest development reveals that four more individuals may enforce asset attachment orders. This would result in the municipality losing movable assets, such as fleet vehicles or equipment, to cover the debts owed. The four court orders pertain to non-payment of pension fund contributions and the unfair dismissal of an official who served for 10 years without due process.
Since the 2021/22 financial year, at least five court orders to attach assets, including a yellow fleet valued at millions, have been executed against the municipality. In March 2024, the sheriff attached assets worth R1 million, and in January 2024, a municipal fleet valued at R3 million was attached due to long-standing debts to service providers.
Masilonyana has been reported to be among the worst-performing municipalities in the province, with a history of adverse findings. In June 2022, AGSA Tsakani Maluleke reported that Masilonyana was one of three Free State municipalities that failed to account for expenditures. The municipality has also failed to deliver mere basic services to residents.
In early 2024 residents in the municipality shut down municipal offices. The residents had spent weeks without drinking water.
The department of Community Safety, Roads, and Transport is next in line for atrocities communities against employees.
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