Allegations by opposition political parties that the Merafong City Local Municipality spent excessive amounts of money unnecessarily overshadowed this year’s State of the City Address (SOCA).

The SOCA, held at the Carletonville Civic Centre on August 21, was more glamorous than in previous years. The speaker, Elvis Mphitikezi, even started the event exactly on time.

Opposition parties, however, criticised the municipality for allegedly hiring private service providers instead of using municipal staff, as in the past. Employees from Vukawanele, a Sandton-based public relations firm, and Folic Media, a Johannesburg company specialising in sound, photography and video services, were responsible for the support work.

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On the morning of the SOCA, the DA announced it would boycott the event.
“We cannot sit through a speech that seeks to disguise the bleak reality facing the Merafong community,” said DA Caucus Whip, Carl Steenekamp.

Other opposition parties, including the MK party, gathered outside the Civic Centre. Tensions escalated, and police had to fire rubber bullets to prevent protesters from entering by force. One man was arrested.
“The municipality at first invited the community, but when we arrived, they said we could not enter,” complained Abie Malefo of the MK party.

Despite the controversy, Executive Mayor Nozuko Best delivered her address. She highlighted several major projects underway in Merafong, including:

• Six solar PV farms near Carletonville.

• A farm-to-plate agro-processing hub near Carletonville.

• Revitalisation of the Carletonville and Fochville CBDs in partnership with SALGA and Gauteng COGTA.

• Development of a central business node in Kokosi with Harmony Gold and government partners.

• A revamp of the Merafong Flora Project at Watersedge in partnership with the West Rand District Municipality and the Department of Agriculture.

She also announced that two large-scale battery storage facilities, each with 77MW capacity and a 20-year lifespan, will be built at Leeuwpoort and Welverdiend. These facilities, developed by Mulilo in partnership with the National Department of Electricity and Energy, are expected to create significant employment during construction and operation.

The municipality is further collaborating with major companies such as Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater and Corobrik on projects forming part of their Social and Labour Plan (SLP) obligations.

When asked about the alleged R1.4m cost of the SOCA, municipal spokesperson Temba Fezani neither confirmed nor denied the figure.