Hundreds of upset residents took part in a march to the Merafong City Local Municipality on Friday, October 24.
The marchers, which included a large group of Kokosi residents, but also representatives of Khutsong, Wedela, Welverdiend, and Carletonville, gathered at the old taxi rank next to Station Street.
From there, they marched to the municipal buildings on Halite Street.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSyFh3EKV/

Memorandums to various institutions

An attorney from Fochville, Ramafala Ramatshosa, read the memorandum, and he and other organisers handed it over to representatives of various government departments and institutions. Representatives of the police in Gauteng, the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the Hawks, and the municipality itself were present.
Memorandums were also forwarded to the Public Protector and the Gauteng Department of Water and Sanitation.
“We recognise and painfully accept that services have collapsed in our municipality,” said Ramatshosa.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSyFkjrr7/

Problems started with MM’s appointment

“We believe that our problems in Merafong started the day the current municipal manager was appointed. The status of our municipality deteriorated, and we are at a stage where there will not be any solution as long as he still occupies the position of municipal manager. Cognisant of the fact that the mayor and council have surrendered their legislative powers to the municipal manager, we say that they have no agency to hold him accountable and discipline him,” the memorandum also read.

Call to CoGTA MEC

Among other things, the protesters want the municipality to be put under administration and that the MEC of CoGTA in Gauteng, Jacob Mamabolo, commission and oversee a forensic audit into procurement, disaster fund allocation, and tariff and billing irregularities.

Key demands and allegations raised by Merafong protesters

• Call for Presidential Action:
  Protesters want the President to authorise an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into systemic corruption within the Merafong City Local Municipality.

• Law Enforcement Investigations:

  • Demand that law-enforcing agencies conduct in-depth investigations into existing corruption cases involving the municipality.

  • Urge authorities to prioritise prosecution of those found responsible.

• Municipal leadership review:

  • Request an investigation into the necessity of having both a deputy mayor and a deputy Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

  • Suggest these roles may be unnecessary and costly to ratepayers.

• Financial mismanagement allegations:

  • Protesters allege overpayments of R34 million were made to collection agencies.

  • Claim that R1.4 million was spent on the State of the City Address, calling the expense excessive and unjustified.

• Environmental and infrastructure concerns:

  • Demand that the Gauteng Department of Water and Sanitation intervene to stop ongoing sewerage pollution caused by municipal neglect.

  • Call for an end to the standoff between Merafong Municipality and Rand Water, which has disrupted services.

“We are very positive and are sure that the matters will not stop here, as we already have appointments to discuss some of these cases with the Hawks in the coming week,” the main organiser of the action,” Buti Mthembu told the Herald after the march.