PUBLIC Protector Thuli Madonsela was yesterday met by the stench of human excrement during her visit to Monyakeng, Wesselbron, in Free State.

Madonsela was doing an inspection in loco when she witnessed how residents had to endure the heavy stench on a daily basis.

She promised she would find out what action the municipality had taken against the officials fingered in a KPMG forensic report revealing massive corruption, maladministration and mismanagement of funds.

Accompanied by her entourage, Madonsela conducted a door-to-door visit.

Her visit took place after concerned residents wrote to her about their plight and demanded urgent intervention.

Residents complained to Madonsela about using the bucket system, despite R105-million having been spent on a project by the Nala municipality to eradicate the system in the township.

They informed her that they were forced to inhale the smell coming from their toilets and blocked manholes on a daily basis.

Madonsela said: "I am shocked at these conditions. I can't handle this stench for more than 10 minutes. What about our people who have to live in these situations."

Madonsela later headed for the sewage plant, where millions of rands had also been wasted on the project.

The plant is incomplete and has been left uncovered since 2004.

Employees there told her the plant had not been working for the past three months.

"There is nothing we can do. This place is a mess," said an employee.

"We are no longer working 24-hour shifts because we are only paid for a 12-hour shift.

"The other problem is copper cable theft, which contributed to the dysfunction of the plant."

The machines pumping sewage were flooded with human waste, which flowed into the offices of the plant.

Martha Magwaxa complained that her bucket had not been collected for almost two months.

"It is full, I have to dig another hole in the yard and throw the mess into it.

"My five children are suffering from tuberculosis because of this bucket.

"The municipality is not assisting, please help us," she pleaded with Madonsela.

Senior officials from themunicipality are implicated in the report.

"We are going to approach the municipality about its actions against officials implicated in the report," Madonsela said.

"We are going to ask if money wasted on unfinished projects had been retrieved."

She said she had a list of all those implicated and would ask the municipality about what action had been taken against them.

"People should account for unfinished projects. We are going to demand answers to unanswered questions.

"We want them to tell us what they have done and what they are doing. We are going to monitor the entire process," she said.

Madonsela said she would meet with mayor Theko Mogoje, MEC for local government Olly Mlamleli and Free State Premier Ace Magashule about the crisis in Nala.

The report revealed that companies were paid large sums of money for unfinished projects.

It said employees had defrauded the municipality of more than R160000 between 2007 and 2009.

The scam allegedly still continues.

Former mayor Mpai Mohorosi is accused of fraudulently using R234000 to build a wall at her private house.

Her vehicle worth R600000 was allegedly purchased through a questionable procedure.

Current speaker Nozililo Mashiya is also implicated in theunprocedural use of the municipality's credit card to buy liquor worth R11489.

Employees allegedly defrauded the municipality of R705423 in a salary scam. An employee demanded a 10% commission from a company awarded a R14-million tender.