Dr Beyers Naude in dire need of financial bailout

WITH a mountain of service delivery backlogs and swimming in debt, the newly formed Dr Beyers Naude Municipality desperately needs a bailout from national government to be able to function.

The municipality, which was a merger between the Ikwezi, Baviaans and Camdeboo municipalities, is not only struggling to pay its creditors, it is also battling to get money from residents for rates and services.

The majority of the residents – particularly in the Jansenville and Klipplaat areas – are poor.

The residents are, however, pinning their hopes on the newly formed institution to improve their dire situation.

In a drive through Jansenville’s Hollanda township, it was evident the area is underdeveloped, with residents saying they had lost hope.

Anna Vena, 45, who rents a backyard shack with her two children, said there was nothing good happening in their community.

“We last saw houses being built in 2009. There are no jobs; nothing is happening here.”

She said they all relied on the grant she received for her children to get by.

“I have been living in my shack for the past three years.

“When I do get a piece job as a domestic worker, I earn R150 for two days,” Vena said.

Vena’s daughter Madeline, 15, become emotional when asked about their living conditions.

“I wish my mom could get a better house and a permanent job. We all sleep in a single bed,” she said.

Their backroom shack has no electricity, they use an outside toilet and a communal tap for water.

Sophie Marman, 74, said although the area was poverty stricken, they all tried to help each other.

However, with the municipality’s debt sitting at R65million, while also being owed R125-million, the municipality does not know how things will improve.

Mayor Deon de Vos said as they approached the end of their second month in office, the financial battles of the municipality were so dire that they would need government to bail them out.

“We have not received any financial support since the transition to form a new municipality.

“We owe a lot of money to creditors,” De Vos said.

“Currently, at the former Ikwezi Municipality, telephone lines are down because the bill has not been paid. We cannot communicate with residents in those areas.”

De Vos said they started this week to visit each ward to hear what the challenges are.

“We were in Klipplaat and Jansenville [on Wednesday] and we found that people are not treated well by our officials,” De Vos said.

“From what we could gather, the residents feel we are an unresponsive government.

“Complaints are not being followed up and the attitude of our staff is casual.

The entity inherited service delivery backlogs, including tarring of roads, housing delivery and potable water.

De Vos said they had sent proposals to the Treasury and the Sarah Baartman District Municipality requesting assistance with funding.