In 2015 the municipal manager, Nkabi Hlubi, allegedly awarded tenders to the value of R21million to Pit Dog Trading. The latter company allegedly manipulated its tender grading and provided Hlubi with kickbacks of R1million each time a municipal payment was made. Hlubi appeared in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court in 2021 on charges of fraud and corruption.[7]
As of January 2024, the municipality is under administration, one of 32 in the country, and three in the Free State where the provincial executive has intervened due to maladministration.[8]
In September 2024, the Municipal Workers Retirement Fund took the municipality to court after the municipality had deducted close to R38 million from workers for pension fund contributions, but never paid this over to the pension fund.[9] The court ordered the municipality to pay the outstanding pension fund money.[10] In January 2025 the Bloemfontein High Court found Mafube mayor Tlhoare Motsoeneng and the CFO personally responsible for the pension fund money that has been missing from the municipal workers. They were both ordered to pay more than R14.6 million within 60 days.[11][12][13]
In January 2025, the municipality was listed as one of the top ten municipalities in arrears on their pension contributions.[13]
In March 2025, the court has ruled against the Free State municipalities including Mafube local government, to end the sewage crisis within its borders.[14] In August 2025, The ANC Provincial Executive Committee resolved to fire leaders in the underperforming local governments to address governance failures, corruption, and service delivery challenges ahead of the 2026 local elections.Mafube is one of those municipalities affected.[15]
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