Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Matjhabeng residents face sewage and water failures before elections

Published

Water shortages, raw sewage spills and failing infrastructure in the Free State's Matjhabeng Municipality have left residents disillusioned ahead of the local government elections. Mayor Thandololo Khalipa defends his record and blames earlier ANC-led administrations.

Khalipa said 54 pump stations and 11 sewer treatment plants were destroyed. He said the municipality has fixed 22 pump stations so far. The municipality declared a disaster in June 2022, he said.

Khalipa said the billions being invested will eventually turn around the water and sewage crisis. He also said some contractors appointed through the intervention have capacity issues and do shoddy work. He said the business forum behaves like a political party and does not tell the truth.

Welkom business owner Tjaard van der Walt said the breakdown of services is intentional sabotage of business. He also said: "It is absolutely devastating to see the state that Matjhabeng is in at the moment."

Rethuseng resident Abraham Makunga said he will not vote for the same people who let residents live like this. Martha Job, also from Rethuseng, asked how she will vote when her toilet does not work. The municipality said it is working to repair and replace dilapidated infrastructure.

Key facts

Who
Thandololo Khalipa (Matjhabeng Mayor); Tjaard van der Walt (Welkom business owner); Abraham Makunga (Rethuseng resident); Ningi Gantsa (Welkom hostel resident)
When
21 October 2026
Where
Matjhabeng Local Municipality, Welkom, Rethuseng
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update