By JN Reporter
Mangaung Metro Municipality Executive Mayor Gregory Nthatisi has made several changes to his Mayoral Committee (MMCs) as part of efforts to strengthen governance and improve service delivery across the metro.
The reshuffle, effected by Nthatisi on Friday, sees some councillors redep...
Mangaung Metro Municipality Executive Mayor Gregory Nthatisi has made several changes to his Mayoral Committee (MMCs) as part of efforts to strengthen governance and improve service delivery across the metro.
The reshuffle, effected by Nthatisi on Friday, sees some councillors redeployed to new portfolios, while others retain their current positions, according to a reliable source within the ruling party’s regional leadership.
Journal News has reliably learned that Nthatisi received the go-ahead from the ANC’s Mangaung Regional Executive Committee before finalising the decision, with a formal announcement expected on Monday during a media briefing.
“The region has approved the reshuffle of the municipality’s mayoral committee, and the official announcement will be made by the mayor on Monday,” said a source close to the matter. “Comrade Nthatisi’s goal is to enhance efficiency and align the metro’s leadership team with the municipality’s strategic priorities — a move fully supported by the regional leadership.”
According to information received, Sebongile Tsoleli, previously MMC for IDP and Performance, has been appointed to Corporate Services, replacing Manthuse Letawana, who moves to Economic Development.
Logan Kruger, formerly heading Finance, has swapped portfolios with Deputy Mayor Lulama Titi-Odili, who previously led Public Safety. Titi-Odili will now serve as MMC for Finance, while Kruger takes over Public Safety.
Meanwhile, Theodorah Mosala, who oversaw Waste and Fleet Management, has been redeployed as MMC for IDP and Performance.
Attempts to obtain comment from ANC Mangaung regional spokesperson Ncamile Nxangisa were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
Dealing with one department at a time, the Premier said her administration will not focus solely on eradicating corruption at senior levels of government but will also extend efforts to include junior employees.
Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae vows to take a tough stance against corruption.
By: Matshidiso Selebeleng
Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae has reaffirmed her commitment to tackling corruption in the Free State by uprooting it at all levels of employment in government. In an interview with lifestyle magazine, Ignited Woman, Letsoha-Mathae declared that her administration will not focus exclusively on eradicating corruption at senior levels of government, but also expand it to junior employees who are involved in government procurement procedures.
“If they think I am coming for senior managers, I am even coming for those clerks who are requesting quotations. Today I am dealing with one department, I am moving one person from the other department to the other, even HODs,” said Letsoha-Mathae.
She also hinted at the possibility of scrupulously rotating government staff to remove them from their comfort zones, where they can casually be tempted to take part in illicit procurement practices. Said Letsoha-Mathae: “This is what we are going to do as the province…you can’t say you are going to change the lives of the people (and) empower the Free Staters, when the same supply chain managers are the ones in the same positions.”
The Premier further queried why service providers from outside were being prioritised instead of local businesspersons. She firmly stated that the latter approach is flawed, highlighting abhorrent incidents that are being perpetrated in other provinces, where bidders sometimes find themselves at the mercy of gun-toting assailants during tender briefing sessions.
“I want to tell you seated here, that what is happening in other provinces, when there is a briefing session and people just come in with guns and say: those who are not from here (get) out. We must address that before we reach that stage.”
“Let us address this issue and empower the people of the Free State,” stated Letsoha-Mathae. The Free State has indeed not been spared in the nationwide scourge of procurement corruption.
According to the 2023/2024 financial year annual report from the office of the Premier, in March 2022, a service provider was appointed to investigate irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure identified by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) during the financial years 2017/18, 2018/19, and 2019/20.
In this investigation, 144 audit findings were related to irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure; 25 of them were finalised and acknowledged by the accounting officer on 25 May 2023. It was through this investigation that additional irregular expenditure was discovered to have been incurred during 2017/18, 2018/19, and 2019/20, amounting to R28 768 000.
By 31 March 2024, 49 more investigations were finalised, but not acknowledged by the accounting officer. Excerpts from the report read: “The disciplinary recommendations contained within these investigation reports have not been implemented, as required by PFMA 38(1)(h)(iii). Management expects that the remaining investigations will be completed by 31 March 2025.”
The report indicated that no independent service provider was appointed to investigate instances of irregular and fruitless, and wasteful expenditure incurred during the period 2021 to 2023 and further states that no internal investigations have been performed by management to determine if disciplinary steps need to be taken against liable officials,” the report mentioned. Noting that Letsoha-Mathe only assumed her duties as Premier in June 2024, the annual report covering her tenure as Premier is yet to be released.
…After their now-arrested mother left them with their eight-year-old sibling for hours
By: Lerato Mutlanyane
Two young children, aged one and three, died in a shack fire in Caleb Motshabi, Bloemfontein, on Monday, 13 October 2025. A third child, aged eight, managed to escape the blaze. Police have opened a case of child neglect and culpable homicide.
The children’s mother appeared briefly in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, 16 October 2025. According to reports, the 30-year-old mother allegedly left her three children alone in the shack at around 6 pm and returned four hours later to find it completely destroyed by fire. The Department of Social Development revealed that 9,485 cases of deliberate child neglect and 595 cases of abandonment have been recorded in South Africa. Free State MEC for Social Development, Mathabo Hlalele, expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy.
“We send our condolences to the family of the children who died in the fire. It is heartbreaking for such young lives to be lost in this manner. Our thoughts are with the family,” said MEC Hlalele. Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae also voiced concern, recalling a similar incident in Reitz in May, where two siblings died in a shack fire.
“We must do better as parents, particularly mothers. We cannot continue losing our children in this manner,” said Premier Letsoha-Mathae.
IN HOT WATER: Moqhaka Local Municipality Municipal Manager, Portia Tshabalala.
Picture: Moqhaka Facebook
By: JN Reporter
The Municipal Manager of Moqhaka Local Municipality, Portia Tshabalala, is reportedly facing imminent arrest following serious allegations of financial misconduct involving more than R221 million unlawfully paid to a security company that allegedly did not qualify for the tender. Law enforcement agencies are said to be finalising the case, with an arrest expected soon as investigations have been completed.
This development follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of Proclamation 163 of 2024 in April last year, authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe the Moqhaka Municipality’s contracting of Isidingo Security Services.
According to a confidential referral affidavit dated September 2025, which contains the full SIU investigation report and is in the possession of Journal News, Tshabalala unlawfully appointed Isidingo Security Services, a KwaZulu-Natal-based company, that allegedly failed to deliver the physical armed security services for which it tendered. The municipality ultimately paid the security company more than R221 million over three years for a tender originally valued at R87 million.
This expenditure exceeded the contract value by 66%, significantly higher than the 15% provision allowed for in the municipality’s 2018/2019 supply chain management policy. Journal News has been reliably informed that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has submitted its report to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), recommending criminal prosecution against Tshabalala. “The matter has been handed over to the NPA for prosecution. I can confirm that the NPA is currently in possession of the report, and the arrest of the Municipal Manager can be expected soon,” said a source close to the investigation.
The SIU report has flagged several irregularities in the appointment and management of the contract. Key findings include that Isidingo Security Services’ firearm licence had already expired at the time of appointment on January 17, 2020. This means they couldn’t legally deliver the required armed security. Furthermore, as a Durban-based company, Isidingo didn’t meet the requirement for locality preference.
The SIU report also highlights a conflict of interest: on October 17, 2019, Tshabalala, as a member of the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC), recommended Isidingo as the preferred bidder, and then proceeded to appoint the company in 2020 when she became the acting Municipal Manager (MM). Although she declared her prior involvement with the BAC, the report states this constitutes a conflict of interest under the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000.
Additionally, Tshabalala didn’t seek council approval for the contract extension, which ran for over a nine-month period, and she continued to renew the contract until February 28, 2023. The tender’s validity period of 90 days had also expired at the time of Isidingo’s appointment, and an uncertified lease agreement submitted by Isidingo was accepted, even though two other service providers were disqualified for failing to submit a compulsory certified lease agreement.
The SIU report concludes that the appointment of Isidingo constitutes irregular expenditure, and the contract extension amounts to unauthorised expenditure. “Evidence reveals that the appointment of Isidin go by the MM for the provision of physical armed security awarded was irregular and unlawful and in contravention of Section 217 of the Constitution of South Africa,” the report states, adding that the MM’s conduct is “unacceptable, unethical, unlawful, (and) irregular”.
The report also suggests that the NPA should consider instituting criminal charges against Tshabalala for contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), stating that the MM’s conduct is a criminal offence in terms of the MFMA.
However, Journal News contacted the NPA spokesperson in the Free State, Mojalefa Senokotsoane, who clarified the NPA’s mandate. “Unfortunately, the NPA does not make arrests. Our mandate, as guided by the NPA Act and the Criminal Procedure Act, is to prosecute cases brought before the courts.” Senokotsoane stated that the NPA is “not in a position to comment on any matter until a suspect has been charged, arrested, processed, and has made their first appearance in court.”
He advised that the appropriate law enforcement agency to engage is the South African Police Service’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks), as they are “best placed to confirm whether there are any pending arrests”.
This morning, the University of the Free State, together with student leadership, have agreed that provisional registration will be phased out over a period of two years.
This comes after a weeklong protest conducted by the students to show their dissatisfaction over the decision by the institution to phase out provisional registration.
The violent protests led to extensive damage to university property, where students engaged in acts of vandalism and arson, and left several security officers with injuries and three hospitalised on the Qwaqwa campus.
The university campus has been closed for five days now, and according to spokesperson Lacea Loader, the UFS is the only university in South Africa that permits students to register even when they have outstanding fees.
"This practice reflected the university’s commitment to access to education; however, there are serious concerns about the rising levels of student debt and the growing accumulation, leaving students with unmanageable debt at graduation.
“Along with other factors, the debt levels have reached nearly a billion rand over the past five years,” she said.
But for a student like Noluthando Masha, a student from the UFS, who relies on National Student Financial Aid(NSFAS), this arrangement is a serious concern.
“The first thing that came to my mind is 'how are we going to further our studies as NSFAS dependents, where are we going to get that amount of money by January, because we come from low-class families.
But this reconsideration gives us hope that maybe by the end of these two years, there will be a solution that will not affect students as this one would have,” she said.
But there are students who still think the two-year period is short and want a permanent solution that will not compromise students’ future.
“My perception, based on this agreement, is that our SRC didn't represent the black students well enough. Because, after that period of two years, UFS management will get rid of the system that allows provisional registrations, then students will strike again? We need an SRC that has a unipolar mandate that advocates for the struggle of black students within every university in the country,” said a student known as Moleboheng Mokoena.
