The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the fraudulent and duplicitous conduct of the ANC-led Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality regarding the proposed disposal and long-term leasing of municipal land and public assets.

On the one hand, the Municipality published an official Public Notice listing fourteen properties for alienation, disposal, or long-term leasing. This notice includes high- value and historically significant assets, among them Naval Hill (ERF 447/6545), described as a “conservation property and or amusement park.” Other listed properties include strategic development nodes, industrial land, the Waaihoek Precinct, the Old Centlec Power Station, and land earmarked for student accommodation and township establishment. The notice explicitly invokes Section 14(2)(a) of the Municipal Finance Management Act and invites public objections within 30 days.

On the other hand, after this process was exposed, the same Municipality issued a Public Statement on the 1st of August 2026 claiming that “Naval Hill is not for sale” and that the Municipality is “not engaged in the sale of municipal assets.” This is a clear attempt to cover up the process it had already initiated, which is pure deception.

The Municipality cannot publish a formal notice listing Naval Hill and other strategic assets for disposal or long-term leasing and then, when placed under public pressure, pretend that no such process exists. The 1st of August statement carefully avoids withdrawing the Public Notice. Instead, it admits that the Municipality is “exploring opportunities to unlock the economic potential” of under-utilised assets through “strategic partnerships and investment proposals,” and confirms that multiple proposals have already been received. Long-term leases and public-private partnerships achieve the same outcome as outright sale: the transfer of control and benefit of public assets into private hands for decades. This is classic ANC doublespeak. When caught, they deny. When denied, they reframe privatisation as “development.”

The EFF rejects this fraudulent behaviour. Public land and strategic municipal assets belong to the people of Mangaung. They are not commodities to be packaged and handed over to private interests under the guise of investment. Naval Hill is an iconic public landmark and its inclusion in a disposal process, followed by a panicked denial, reveals both contempt for the public and a deliberate attempt to mislead residents.

Meaningful public participation cannot take place when the Municipality issues a notice one day and tries to rewrite reality the next. Residents have the right to full disclosure: valuations, maps, feasibility studies, the identity of interested parties, and a clear explanation of why public ownership is no longer considered the best option for each property.

The solution to municipal failure is not the liquidation of public assets. The EFF offers a fundamentally different path — one founded on democratic public ownership, accountable governance, economic justice, and the utilisation of municipal assets to create jobs, empower communities, and transform the local economy. Public land must remain under democratic control and be strategically deployed to support youth- owned enterprises, township industrial parks, worker and community cooperatives, affordable social housing, agricultural production, publicly controlled student accommodation, and infrastructure that serves the people rather than private profit.

As South Africa approaches the 2026 Local Government Elections, the people of Mangaung face a clear choice: continue with a governing party that treats public assets as disposable commodities or elect a developmental government that builds public wealth instead of disposing of it.

The EFF, therefore, calls on the residents of Mangaung to reject this process in its entirety. We demand that the Municipality immediately withdraw the Public Notice, publish all supporting documentation, and subject any future proposals to genuine, transparent community consultation. Anything less is a continuation of the fraudulent conduct already on display.