By Luvuyo Mjekula
Makhanda is one of 32 small towns in 11 Eastern Cape municipalities the Democratic Alliance has flagged as facing total collapse due to alleged poor governance and corruption.
“Constant water and electricity outages, crumbling roads, overflowing sewage, sky-high unemployment, a total lack of basic services, and rampant corruption due to cadre deployment have broken the Eastern Cape’s once thriving small towns,” said Vicky Knoetze MPL, the DA’s Eastern Cape shadow MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in a statement recently.
The state of the “utter collapse” became clear after the DA recently concluded a tour to 32 small towns in 11 Eastern Cape municipalities, Knoetze said.
The towns visited were Makhanda, Krakeel, Joubertina, Clarkson, Woodlands, Stormsriver, Coldstream, Somerset East, Pearston, Bedford, Adelaide, Chintsa West, Chintsa East, Hofmeyr, Molteno, Komani, Whittelsea, Stutterheim, Cathcart, Steynsburg, Venterstad, Burgersdorp, Oviston, Middelburg, Cradock, Willowmore, Steytlerville, Klipplaat, Jansenville, Kirkwood, Patterson and Addo.
According to the DA, the purpose of the tour was two-fold – firstly to engage with communities and key stakeholders regarding the challenges experienced in terms of governance and discuss possible solutions, and secondly, to conduct oversight over critical infrastructure such as roads, water, waste water, sewerage, other municipal infrastructure and basic service delivery.
The DA said in the Eastern Cape, 16 of our 39 municipalities are in severe financial distress. Half of district municipalities are under administration. The municipal debt owed to Eskom has ballooned and is now standing at more than R3,5 billion.
“The reality of what we experienced is that there is a general lack of basic service delivery in most of the towns and critical infrastructure has either already collapsed or is on the verge of collapse. Poor governance has devastating consequences for people in these small towns and seriously affects the quality of life of millions of people living in our non-metro areas.”
Some of the most pertinent challenges include high unemployment rates, water-shedding/unreliable access to water, sewerage problems, collapse of critical infrastructure and a total lack of basic service delivery.
“There is a complete lack of effective oversight, assistance and intervention over the local government sphere in the Eastern Cape,” said Knoetze.
“It is clear that governance in the Eastern Cape has been eroded by cadre deployment, corruption, criminality and a complete lack of political will to prioritise the needs of the people in the Eastern Cape. These elements are killing our economy, any prospects of growth and with it, the opportunities of our people in terms of job creation.”
The DA is proposing to rescue the small towns by building a capable state that will abolish cadre deployment.
“We will also partner with the private sector and civil society in terms of a “whole of society” approach. There must be Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to enhance capacity and bridge some of the gaps that have been created.
“The DA will continue to fight to rescue our small towns to ensure that local economies are protected.”
The party calls on the electorate to vote for the DA “to rescue South Africa and our small towns”.
