{
  "id": 16037982,
  "title": "Politicians ‘coin it’ in Mafube, while residents struggle with the basics",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/politicians-coin-it-in-mafube-while-residents-struggle-with-the-basics",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-22T11:54:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/elections/politicians-coin-it-in-mafube-while-residents-struggle-with-the-basics/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Mafube Local Municipality of the Free State, residents are grappling with basic necessities while politicians continue to receive salaries, reportedly funded by national government grants. The municipality is currently under administration and lacks a budget. Oupa Mokoena, leader of the opposition party Mafube First, has been vocal about the municipality's failure to bill residents and businesses correctly for over a decade. Mokoena, formerly a councillor for the ANC, claims the municipality has not been billing people due to billing system issues. Despite the municipality being under administration, it continues to pay salaries and uses national government grants to do so. The water in Mafube is unsafe to drink, and residents must boil it before consumption. The local river is now contaminated with raw sewage, and potholes have become sinkholes. Refuse collection is also problematic, as workers cannot perform their duties without payment. The ANC acknowledges the challenges in Mafube and states that interventions are underway.",
  "summary": "According to Oupa Mokoena, the Mafube Local Municipality has a billing crisis.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing political salaries through national grants while failing to maintain billing systems deepens the crisis for residents facing contaminated water, uncollected refuse, and crumbling infrastructure.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}