Staff Writer | Thurs, 18 Dec 2025
Irate Mangaung Metro Municipality stage protest due none payment of overtime. Pic: 18 Dec 2025/ Glass House
Disgruntled workers at the cash-strapped Bloemfontein-based Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM) have downed tools this morning over the non-payment of overtime.
The metro has failed to pay workers the 3 months over time and this has since triggered outrage among employees and renewed criticism of the embattled Free State metro’s leadership. Workers allege that the metro has also been deducting funds from salaries with no explanation.
This has since drawn sharp criticism and large scale concern over maladministration, corruption scandals and political instability.
The South African Municipal Workers Union(SAMWU) Mangaung regional chair, Andile Mooketsi, joined protestimg workers insight. He has highlighted the plight faced by workers. Mooketsi said the shift allowence and overtime were not being paid by the Metro.
He said Traffic officials were also affected by these non payments.
“There are members who were unlawfully suspended and their monies were being deducted without their consent, ” he said
Mooketsi confirmed that amounts ranging from R5000 to R8000 were being deducted by the cash-strapped metro.
The non-payment comes weeks after the National Treasury issued a scathing letter to municipal manager(MM) Sello More, warning of its intention to invoke Section 216(2) of the Constitution, read together with Section 38 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
News Junction previously reported that treasury cited Mangaung’s persistent failure to curb unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFW).
Mangaung remains under national intervention due to its chronic service delivery failures and remains the only metropolitan municipality in South Africa operating with an unfunded budget. Intensifying factional battles in council have further pushed the metro into chaos.
News Junction (Gold Standard)
