By Staff Writer
Residents of the troubled Theunissen-based Masilonyana Local Municipality in the Free State have been without running water for more than two weeks, as the financially distressed municipality continues to battle long-standing service delivery failures.
Despite earlier assurances, the municipality has not supplied water through tankers, leaving Winburg communities in Makeleketla desperate. Residents say no official communication has been provided about the cause of the prolonged outage.
Resident Keiso Maribe told News Junction that municipal officials informed him the municipality owes a water-tanker service provider four months of unpaid invoices.
“We have been struggling for weeks without water, and no one from the municipality has come to tell us what is happening,” he said. “They always claim it’s a pipeline problem, but what about the tankers? Yesterday, they told me the municipality owes the service provider for four months. We understand the director has just arrived, but that doesn’t mean the community must suffer. We are talking about water, which is life.”Maribe also reported that hot, dirty water was unexpectedly diverted into parts of the community on Wednesday, 19 November 2025.
The municipality’s water crisis is not new. For nearly a decade, many residents have experienced chronic water shortages, with some saying their taps have been dry for years. The municipality has also been battling severely damaged water infrastructure, further crippling supply.
Videos and photos showing residents collecting water from streams and distant areas have been widely circulated on social media, highlighting the scale of the crisis.
Masilonyana Municipality has faced ongoing scrutiny from both the national and provincial governments for poor service delivery. Its leadership, including embattled mayor Dimakatso Modise, has been criticised for failing to turn the situation around. Modise was among ANC Troika members recently instructed by the ANC Provincial Working Committee (PWC) to step down, an order she and others have defied, choosing to remain in office despite worsening service failures.
The municipality’s financial woes deepened recently when several vehicles were attached following a court order issued by the Free State High Court. This is a developing story.
News Junction (Gold Standard)