A group of former African National Congress (ANC) councillors have clinched a coalition deal to take over the governance of Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, in the Free State, from the ANC.

MAP-16 was formed by former ANC councillors who were expelled from the party for calling out corruption in the municipality.

In the municipal elections, MAP-16 managed to eat into the ANC's dominance in the troubled municipality of Maluti-a-Phofung to secure 20 seats.

The ANC dominance in the area saw a sharp decrease, from 47 to 28 seats. And for the first time, the municipality would be governed through a coalition government.

MAP-16 will run the local government with the support of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the Dikwankwetla Party of South Africa (DPSA), ATM, SARKO, AULA, AIC. 

Azael Nhlapo, from MAP-16, told News24 the organisation had also secured support from the Freedom Front Plus and the Democratic Alliance (DA). 

The DA and FF-Plus did not form part of the coalition agreement, but had indicated that it would support the election of the speaker, mayor and chief whip of the council. 

The council sitting for the municipality is on 24 November, and MAP-16 councillors will be elected as mayor and speaker. 

The coalition partners will split the mayoral committee member positions.

The EFF will oversee the municipal public accounts committee and will not co-govern the municipality, Nhlapo said.

Nhlapo admitted that co-governing a financially struggling municipality would not be easy. 

He said the group would now place its bets on the memorandum of understanding, which would play a critical role in stabilising the agreement. 

News24's Out of Order Index placed Maluti-a-Phofung as one of the worst run municipalities in the Free State. 

Service delivery in the area was poor, and residents made it known to ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa as he campaigned in the area ahead of the 1 November polls. 

"We are service delivery based. Maluti-a-Phofung is a collapsed municipality, and we will have to sit down and come up with solutions for basic service delivery," Nhlapo said. 

"Coalitions are not easy, but we want to prove the point with this coalition. We are going to be open to one another and as open as possible with the undertakings we make in providing services. There will be no motions of no-confidence, and we hope if we are open, that will assist in stabilising the agreement," Nhlapo said.