South Africa: Elections 2026 - How This North West Town Went From Boom to Bust

The City of Matlosana in North West is under a financial recovery plan after years of mismanagement, with billions of rands owed. Residents report flooded roads, unreliable water and electricity, sewage spills, and deteriorating infrastructure. Unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure reached R10.8 billion by 2024/25, and the municipality takes about 600 days to pay creditors. Despite completing stormwater projects, flooding persists during heavy rains, and the area, once booming due to gold mining, is now distressed with collapsing services.