The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will lay criminal charges against the municipal managers of 10 of the country’s worst-performing municipalities, accusing them of presiding over years of financial mismanagement, weak accountability and the collapse of basic services.
DA parliamentary leader George Michalakis said the party would, alongside its Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) spokespersons and members of Parliament’s Cogta committee, begin laying the charges against the “terrible ten” officials over the coming weeks.
“Today I’m announcing that I will personally lay criminal charges against what we have labelled the worst municipal managers in the country,” Michalakis said on Thursday.
The DA said the 10 officials, drawn from nine municipalities, had been identified based on Auditor-General reports showing repeated failures to comply with financial accountability requirements and implement recommendations.
Michalakis said some of the municipalities had recorded consecutive disclaimer audit opinions for years, with some failures stretching back nearly a decade.
“If you are from one of these municipalities and you do not have water, you do not have street lights, and you do not have a working sewage system, these are the faces of the faeces in your street,” he said.
He accused the officials of allowing municipalities to be “milked dry” while residents were left without basic services.
“It is time that these 10 individuals are no longer recycled by the ANC but are forced to account by our criminal justice system,” he said.
The DA said its planned charges would be based on provisions of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), including Section 173(1), which it said criminalises conduct such as gross negligence, ignoring material accounting irregularities and providing false information to the Auditor-General.
DA Spokesperson on Cogta Marina van Zyl said municipal managers were among the most powerful civil servants in local government and had a direct impact on the ability of municipalities to provide services.
“Municipal managers are the most senior and most powerful civil servants in local government,” van Zyl said.
“They have the power to make or break a municipality.”
She said the DA’s first priority in its plan to address failing municipalities would be dealing with corrupt and mismanaged administrations.
Van Zyl said the party wanted to replace political appointments with merit-based recruitment and ensure officials faced consequences for corruption and poor performance.
“Consequences, not redeployment,” she said.
The DA’s proposed approach is based on three pillars: competence over political connections, accountability without exception and continuous professionalisation of municipal administrations.
Van Zyl said DA-run municipalities would employ qualified professionals through merit-based appointments, while officials found guilty of misappropriating public funds would face personal and criminal consequences.
The party also plans to invest in continuous training for municipal officials.
Michalakis then identified the 10 municipal managers the DA has singled out for potential criminal action.
At Makana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, the DA named Pumelelo Maxwell Kate, appointed in November 2022. Michalakis said the municipality had received seven consecutive disclaimer audit opinions and had failed to implement consequences for financial mismanagement and weaknesses in expenditure controls.
He also accused the municipality of failing to address material irregularities involving dysfunctional wastewater and landfill sites.
At Sunday River Valley Local Municipality, the DA named Thabiso Klaas, appointed in January 2023. Michalakis said the municipality had also recorded seven consecutive disclaimer audits and that the municipal manager had failed to provide documents relating to corrective measures requested by the Auditor-General.
In the Free State, the DA identified Mojalefa Matlole of Masilonyana Local Municipality, saying the municipality had received a decade of disclaimer audit opinions.
Michalakis accused the municipality of failing to properly allocate an R111 million equitable share intended to support more than 16,000 indigent households, saying only R31 million had been budgeted.
The DA also named Mokete Solomon Nhlapo of Nketoana Local Municipality, which it said had seven years of disclaimer opinions and five persistent material irregularities. Michalakis said users had been given unrestricted access to financial systems and the municipality had accumulated an Eskom debt of R883 million.
At Mahokare Local Municipality, the DA named acting municipal manager MS Mohale, alleging three years of disclaimer audits, seven material irregularities and financial losses amounting to R10.1 million.
In North West, the DA identified Olaotse Bojosinvane of Ditsobotla Local Municipality, accusing the municipality of nine years of audit failures and failing to budget for more than 39,000 indigent households despite receiving R115 million allocated for them.
The DA also named Dillo Sereo of Kannaland Local Municipality in the Western Cape, accusing the municipality of four years of disclaimer audit opinions and failures in tender processes.
Two officials were identified at Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality in the Free State — Advocate Mofokeng and Dr Futhuli Patrick Mothamaha. Michalakis said the municipality had a persistent lack of accounting records and that remedial action had not been implemented despite previous failures.
The final official identified was Olehile Alan Losaba, municipal manager at Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, who Michalakis said had been suspended for misconduct in 2025.
He alleged that Losaba had been found personally liable by the Auditor-General for R4.6 million linked to an inflated water-tanker contract, while residents faced water shortages.
Michalakis said the municipality had also incurred R27 million in wasteful expenditure, including alleged irregularities involving security tenders.
He said a forensic investigation had been conducted into the matters but alleged that ANC councillors had prevented the report from being adopted by repeatedly boycotting council meetings.
The DA said it would ask the South African Police Service to investigate the allegations.
“We are asking the SAPS to investigate and ensure that those who broke our municipalities finally answer for it in a court of law,” Michalakis said.
He stressed that the 10 officials represented only the beginning of the DA’s accountability campaign.
The party would continue using other mechanisms, including engaging the Auditor-General, while its provincial structures could pursue similar action against municipal managers not included in Thursday’s list.
Michalakis said the DA had focused on what it regarded as the worst cases because the list of poorly performing municipal managers across the country was considerably longer.
The announcement comes ahead of the November 2026 Local Government Elections, with the DA positioning municipal governance and service delivery as a central campaign issue.
Michalakis said the party hoped to reduce the ANC’s support below 50% in poorly governed municipalities and use the resulting political opportunities to install administrations focused on restoring basic services.
“If you want water in your taps, vote for a government that can actually deliver,” he said.
He said the DA’s broader objective was to replace what it described as a culture of political patronage with competent municipal administrations capable of restoring financial stability and service delivery.
“We don’t just want to change the names on the office doors,” Michalakis said.
“We want to change the way in which South Africa is governed.”
