Residents of the Ngwathe Local Municipality do not deserve more disruption. They deserve clean water, working toilets, lights that stay on, roads that function, and leadership that listens.

Responding to the declaratory order granted by the Free State High Court for intervention by the Free State provincial government and dissolving the Ngwathe municipal council, the Edgar Legoale Foundation said it welcomes the court’s recognition of the suffering faced by the people of Ngwathe. Though, it believes the court’s decision may have prematurely applied Section 139(1)(c), without exploring less drastic and more stabilising measures, was said.

The Foundation particularly expressed concern about the court’s decision to dissolve the council, stating the solution lies in strengthening oversight, enforcing accountability, and enabling collaborative administration between provincial and local leadership structures.

They expressed concern about the use of administrators from the province, pointing out history has shown that the appointment of administrators under Section 139(1)(b) or (c) often fails to improve service delivery. “Instead, in some cases, administrators have been accused of corruption, appointing friends and deploying politically aligned actors with no track record in governance.”

The Foundation says it opposes any intervention that removes democratic representation without strict accountability safeguards.

It recommends strengthening the role of Fezile Dabi District Municipality. They also want to see National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) establishing a special intervention package including ring-fenced funding for water, sanitation, electricity, refuse and infrastructure, deployment of technical task teams and a community accountability forum.