Gauteng legislature slams Merafong Local Municipality over total financial collapse

By Thapelo Molefe and Johnathan Paoli

The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has raised alarm over the deepening financial and service delivery crisis in Merafong City Local Municipality, warning that residents continue to bear the brunt of governance failures even as small signs of institutional stabilisation emerge.

Meeting with the Department of CoGTA, councillors and municipal officials, the committee expressed concern over Merafong’s precarious position, citing decaying infrastructure, mounting debt, unimplemented resolutions, and chronic service breakdowns.

Committee chairperson Mzi Khumalo struck a cautious balance between recognition and warning.

“The municipality has started to make progress in strengthening its audit processes, and that effort should not be overlooked. These are small but important steps towards restoring stability. However, sustained progress requires firm leadership, improved revenue collection, and stronger accountability,” said Khumalo.

The committee’s concern was grounded in the lived realities of residents.

In Welverdiend,