As the 2026 municipal elections loom, Journal News caught up with Mantsopa Local Municipality, Mayor Mamsie Tsoene, on issues affecting the municipality and its residents, as well as his plans to retain the office.

By: Abigail Visagie

Local government elections are coming up next year, how are you feeling about this?

The elections are coming at a time when local government is in trouble, we all know, and we all can see. The issues and the challenges that are there… Difficult as it may be, we need to prepare for the elections.

What are the challenges that you are facing in such a small municipality?

I am from a tiny and rural municipality where there is a high unemployment rate. Despite that, we are doing all that we can to ensure that we deliver services to the people. It is difficult since we have challenges regarding water, sewer problems, and road infrastructure.

Ladybrand is the economic hub of Mantsopa. Why are you struggling with potholes?

For instance, Ladybrand was one of the municipalities that used to get VUNA awards, but with the aging infrastructure and people not paying for services, you will find yourself exposed to issues of potholes. However, we are trying our best. We are currently busy with a project where we manufacture our own tar, we are doing it internally to maintain our potholes.

That sounds commendable. How many have you closed using your own manufactured tar?

I do not have the exact figures, but I would say that we are going from almost two to four kilometres. It is still not much because we have succumbed to many challenges, including the weather, and are also struggling to procure the supplies. But we are trying to accelerate the process…. Not because of the upcoming elections. We are doing this to empower the lives of our people. Our people deserve a decent life, so we need to ensure that we do the right thing for them. We cannot act as if it is natural and common for people to drive on potholes and gravel roads.

You earlier spoke of challenges faced by the municipality; can you elaborate more on that?

I will start with Ladybrand, the economic town of Mantsopa. They are dealing with issues of sewage. Ladybrand is surrounded by mountains, so you can imagine how damaged our roads are due to water spills that derive from the mountains.

Is that the main challenge faced by Ladybrand?

Look, we have a 150-meter sewer pipeline running in the location, but it is old. We have managed to install about 450 meters of pipelines for our new location, which is further assisting with the

What recent projects does Mantsopa have?

We have projects that we are currently implementing, and we are in the process of employing new service providers to increase the capacity, replace the old pipes, and install new pipes. I believe that this is the permanent solution for Ladybrand.

We are also looking at issues of water around Ladybrand, we have more challenges in Tweespruit and Excelsior, where there are water restrictions, but we are currently looking at interventions of boreholes that we are now installing in Excelsior. We have also submitted business plans to the Department of Water and Sanitation for a pipeline that will be connected to Thaba Phatswa Dam. That will further alleviate the situation in Armenia, Tweespruit, and Excelsior.

That – I believe – is a long-term plan. What is the municipality doing now for the community that is struggling with water supply?

We are installing tanks at places that do not have water, and we use our own water tanker and fire trucks to assist with the water crisis. Although it is a bit of a challenge, we are doing all we can to ensure that people have water every day.

With the work you have been doing since you were deployed to lead this municipality, how confident are you that the party you represent will be re-elected?

Unfortunately, this is my last term as the mayor. I am preparing for the next person to be deployed. I am confident that my work will deliver a victory for the ANC in this municipality. We are now one of the municipalities that still lead in numbers, we do not want the numbers to decrease, so it means that we must push. We are doing as much as we can, for instance, our quick wins are fixing the potholes, roads grading, and fixing streetlights and electricity. Those are our main concerns.