Sello More, the municipal manager of the Mangaung metro council in Bloemfontein. (Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality/ Facebook)
AfriForum requested Sello More, the municipal manager of the Mangaung metro council in Bloemfontein, to resign immediately.
According to the civil rights organization, this letter to More follows the ongoing mismanagement of money and the decay of infrastructure in the metro.
Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s head for the Central Region, says the decline in service delivery in Bloemfontein has reached a critical point.
He says new information has revealed that R1.6 billion has been lost over five years due to water leaks, a direct result of poor management, poor maintenance and total administrative failure.
According to AfriForum, the residents of Bloemfontein deserve reliable and functional basic services, accountable and competent leadership and transparent and honest financial management.
Grobbelaar says the decline of Bloemfontein is not just an infrastructure problem, but a leadership crisis.
“While billions of rands are being wasted, residents are left without reliable garbage disposal services and a municipality that can’t even afford diesel for garbage disposal trucks, landfills that are not up to standard and poorly managed, roads that are covered with dangerous potholes and parks that have been neglected for months.”
The Mangaung metro’s annual report for 2024-25 also repeatedly points to irregular, fruitless and wasted expenditure which confirms a culture of mismanagement and the absence of accountability.
“Even more shocking is that More awarded himself a salary increase of approximately R700 000 per year in 2024 for so-called ‘outstanding performance'”.
Grobbelaar says this decision is a slap in the face to every taxpayer who has to endure the consequences of this failure on a daily basis.
“AfriForum makes it clear: This situation is unacceptable, therefore we formally demand More’s immediate resignation. His continued appointment is unsustainable and undermines any attempt to restore the municipality.”
Grobbelaar says AfriForum intends to give its neighborhood team training to repair water leaks so that the organization can intervene where the metro does not fulfill its obligations.
The civil rights organization is urging the community to sign its petition to highlight residents’ unhappiness.
“Every time someone signs the petition, a request for resignation will be sent to More. A copy of the request will also be sent to Gregory Nthatisi, the executive mayor of the Mangaung metro, and MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae, the Free State premier,” says Grobbelaar.