The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the brazen and cynical rush by the ANC-led Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality to advertise and process a mass of senior and middle-management appointments through Internal Vacancy Bulletin No. 06/2026 for August 2026. This is not routine administration, but a calculated attempt to pre-empt the democratic outcome of the municipal elections scheduled for 4 November 2026 and to rule beyond the grave.

The bulletin advertises numerous critical posts across Community Services and related directorates. These include the General Manager: Social Development on a total cost-to-company package ranging from R1 707 468 to R2 003 268 per annum; Managers of Cemeteries, Solid Waste (Botshabelo), Solid Waste (Thaba Nchu) and Community Development, all with packages between R919 932 and R1 011 156; and multiple Administrative Officer posts. These are senior and influential roles that shape policy implementation, budget control, service delivery priorities and institutional culture for years ahead.

The timing is deliberate and indefensible. With the local government elections only weeks away, the outgoing ANC administration is accelerating the filling of these posts while the people of Mangaung prepare to decide the political future of the municipality. This is an attempt to bind an incoming council to decisions made by an administration whose electoral mandate is about to expire. It is an effort to entrench ANC influence, protect patronage networks, and constrain the ability of any new political leadership to restructure the administration in line with the will of the voters.

This is cadre deployment and electioneering through the state. It is the abuse of public office to reward political loyalty, pack the municipality with preferred individuals, and create facts on the ground that a future council will struggle to reverse. Senior appointments of this nature have long-term consequences. They determine who controls budgets, who influences service delivery priorities, and who shapes the administrative machinery that the next council will inherit. To rush these appointments now is to attempt to govern from beyond the electoral mandate. It is an insult to the democratic process and a form of wanton criminality against the principles of accountable governance.

For years the residents of Mangaung have endured collapsing basic services, failing infrastructure, weak financial management and persistent non-compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act. National Treasury’s decision in July 2026 to temporarily withhold equitable-share transfers from Mangaung and other municipalities because of serious and ongoing non-compliance is public knowledge. Against this background of failure, the sudden urgency to fill numerous senior posts immediately before an election cannot be presented as responsible administration.

The EFF rejects any attempt to normalise this conduct as municipalities facing an imminent election have a duty to exercise restraint. Decisions that create long-term institutional commitments, particularly senior management appointments, should be deferred until the electorate has spoken, and the incoming council has had the opportunity to determine the administrative arrangements necessary to implement its mandate.

The people of Mangaung are entitled to ask a simple question: Why now? If these positions are genuinely critical to the functioning of the municipality, the ANC-led administration must explain, transparently and in detail, why they suddenly became urgent in the final months before an election. If they are not urgent, they must be frozen until after 4 November 2026. Anything less is an attempt to rule beyond the grave.

The EFF further demands strict adherence to transitional principles during the election period. There must be no further senior appointments, no major long-term contractual commitments, and no decisions designed to constrain the incoming council. Mangaung belongs to its residents, not to any outgoing political party and the voters will decide the political direction of the municipality on the 4th of November 2026.