Moqhaka Local Municipality council has finally elected councillor Ramasimong Tau as the Executive Mayor and councillor Nthabiseng Mokodutlo Magengenene as the Council Speaker of Moqhaka, which includes Kroonstad, Steynsrus, and Viljoenskroon in the Free State, on Thursday, 07 May 2026.
This comes after a special council meeting to elect a new Executive Mayor collapsed after the African National Congress (ANC) councillors in the municipality were instructed not to attend, leaving the meeting with at least twenty-two (22) councillors of the opposition parties, to break the quorum on Wednesday, 22 April 2026.
City Report has previously reported that the regional leaders of ANC in Fezile Dabi region have allegedly briefed twenty-two (22) councillors of the party to delay the election of councillor Tau and Magengenene. Before the special meeting of the municipality, the ANC national leadership pronounced Tau as the new mayoral candidate, after Magengenene failed to make it as the preferred candidate.
While accepting his new role as the executive mayor, Tau said it is a call to serve people with honesty, discipline, commitment, and urgency. He emphasised that water shortages in Kroonstad, Viljoenskroon, and Steynsrus, have severely impacted residents’ daily lives.
“Our people are waiting for residential sites. The backlog of housing opportunities continues to frustrate many families who have waited for years for access to land and dignified shelter. We have the responsibility to accelerate the 5300 residential sites project and ensure that allocation processes are transparent, fair, and free from corruption. We should not leave both Steynsrus and Viljoenskroon behind.
“Water shortages continue to affect our communities. Water is life, and no resident of Moqhaka should suffer without reliable access to clean water. We will prioritise urgent intervention in our water infrastructure, including pump stations, pipelines, reservoirs, and sanitation systems.
We will work closely with provincial and national government to restore dignity through proper water and sanitation services,” said Tau.
Speaking about the Eskom repayment obligations that the municipality has repeatedly failed to meet, he encouraged the municipality to approach the matter with honesty and discipline. The municipality is currently in a financial crisis, with its debt to Eskom ballooning to over R2 billion as of 2026.
“Our municipality is burdened by a high Eskom debt that threatens financial sustainability and service delivery. We must confront this challenge with honesty and discipline. We will strengthen revenue collection, stop wasteful expenditure, fight corruption, improve financial controls, and engage responsibly with Eskom to find sustainable repayment solutions.
“If needs be, we shall request COGTA to dispatch its Intervention Team to assist Officials, particularly in the Finance Department to put systems in place in endeavour to root out corruption in our municipality. Of primary importance is to ensure that all litigation cases are attended to as a matter of urgency. We need a stable Municipality moving forward,” Tau said.
Amongst other things, he indicated that there is an urgent need to fill up the vacant posts of Senior Managers in order to stabilize administration, deal decisively with corrupt activities, address the residential sites backlog and improve the provision of basic services. Magengenene emphasized the need to unify all councillors irrespective of their political parties to strengthen the council’s oversight role.
She categorised public participation as the cornerstone of democracy and ensure full implementation of council resolutions in the interest of the community. Their election follows the resignation of councillor Motloheloa Mokatsane as Executive Mayor and councillor Selloane Khiba as Council Speaker.
The two submitted their resignation effective from 17 and 20 April 2026.
According to the municipal spokesperson, Dika Kheswa, municipality’s day to day operations, projects, and services to communities were not affected by these resignations.
“Moqhaka Local Municipality is taking this opportunity to thank both Cllr Khiba and Cllr Mokatsane for their commitment and dedication in service of the Municipality and the residents of Moqhaka and wishes them well in their future endeavours,” said Kheswa.
Kheswa also emphasised that the elections of Tau and Magengenene are a way of bringing about both legislative and administrative stability , accountability and improved provision of services. Meanwhile councillor Phaladi Matsole is elected as Executive Mayor of Mafube Local Municipality and councillor Mamonaila is now the new Speaker of Council.
