Thinking out loud
Are we overromanticising life in the platteland?
You are romanticising the platteland. This is a complaint we sometimes hear when readers return from a weekend getaway at a “once well-maintained and spotless” town, which is now “shockingly dirty and neglected”. But, as Johan van Zyl heard at this year’s Woordfees in Stellenbosch, decay occurs everywhere in the world – and the “romantic” picture painted in glossy magazines is not so much a problem as it is a solution.
“Depopulation of the platteland is a reality; people are suffering. Poor municipal management, a lack of employment opportunities and a crippling drought are all contributing to the rapid decline of numerous platteland towns. How can we reverse this trend? Why are some towns successful and others not? What does the platteland still have to offer?”
These three questions, under the title “O, wye en droewe land” in the discourse series listed in the festival guide for this year’s Woordfees in early March, caught Platteland’s eye. These same questions are occasionally posed in letters we receive from readers who, for the first time in years, and prompted by nostalgia and fond memories, had visited the town in which they'd been raised…
Dr Leslie van Rooi, Senior Director: Social Impact and Transformation at Stellenbosch University, led the conversation. One of the speakers, Professor Ronnie Donaldson of the Department of Geography, said that as recently as the 2015–2016 tax year, the 10 best-performing municipalities in South Africa were all in the platteland (nine in the Western Cape and one
– De Aar – in the Northern Cape).
But when you read the latest report about the state of local government, published in July by outgoing auditorgeneral Kimi Makwetu, you want to tear your hair out over what is happening in so many platteland towns. Only 20 municipalities
– most of them under DA control – received a clean audit this year; 76 municipalities had deteriorated over the past three years (and only 31 had improved); and the books of 28 were in such a shambles that they were not able to submit financial statements.
Yet what quickly became clear during the discussion was that the causes of the problems in the platteland – and the solutions – are far more complex than they at first appear. Here follows a brief overview of the panel discussion.
The six major problems
1 Depopulation This near-irreversible process is largely caused by a lack of job opportunities in the platteland. In 1994, roughly 50% of the South Africa population lived in rural areas, but over the past 25 years the number has dwindled to about 30%.
There are indications that the depopulation process is either slowing down or has stopped, or in some places it could be turning around in towns that are fairly close to metropolitan areas. Residents of these towns are able to work in the city while enjoying the more affordable accommodation and more relaxed lifestyle that the platteland offers. This is where advances in technology are playing an important role: people are no longer obliged to live in a city or suburb if they want to climb the career ladder.
Another speaker, Stiaan Carstens, Senior Manager: Development Management at Stellenbosch Municipality, said school desegregation was another contributing factor.
“Platteland boarding schools are emptying and closing because more and more white farmers are choosing to send their children to schools in the cities or large towns. Over the weekends, they attend their children’s sporting events elsewhere, and that is where they spend their money.”
2 Decay According to Ronnie, this is not a platteland phenomenon but occurs all over the world and certainly in cities too. “The centuriesold symbiotic relationship between towns and farms has changed, and so have road networks – a modern highway that no longer runs through a town can have a devastating impact on the local economy. What’s more, it is an historical fact that the South African platteland has, to a large extent, been sustained by farmers, but changing circumstances mean that the number of farmers is dwindling. And those who are keeping their heads above water are sending their children to bigger schools in cities or neighbouring towns.”
3 Drought The protracted drought affecting large parts of the country has had a dramatic impact on the agricultural sector. Hundreds of farmers have had to throw in the towel and retrench their workers – people who then move to town, where they have no work.
4 Unemployment and insufficient
job creation Between 1984 and 2004, an estimated 1,7 million workers were evicted from farms, largely because of new measures to facilitate long-term security of land tenure. Thousands more farmworkers have lost their jobs since then, mostly owing to the severe drought.
But mines and factories are also closing. One example is the steel factory outside Saldanha: those who are retrenched become a burden to the town by placing enormous pressure on the municipality for housing and income. Not only is the town’s middleclass and tax network shrinking, but increasing numbers of unemployed people who have to survive on social grants are also creating a false economy that would collapse without those grants.
5 Poor municipal service delivery
Stiaan describes poor municipal service delivery as a leadership and political crisis. “Political shifts have an impact on administration and cause instability. Service delivery is collapsing because of mismanagement (including corruption and fruitless and wasteful expenditure), a lack of leadership and expertise, incompetence, and the absence of accountability or consequences for weak performance.
“Another contributing factor has been the amalgamation of municipalities that once each had their own identity and structure. Now, people sometimes have to travel up to 200 km to conduct municipal business.”
6 Rural security Just like no one wants to live in a dirty town with poor service delivery, no one wants to feel unsafe in their own home. Criminals are increasingly targeting small towns and farms because they are easier targets now that there is a larger presence of security cameras and police officers in urban areas.
And the solutions?
Leslie asked Ronnie and Stiaan whether part of the problem could be the unrealistic and far too “romantic” image of the platteland lifestyle presented in glossy magazines. They both disagreed with this assertion.
“On the contrary, I firmly believe one way to ensure the survival of platteland towns is to romanticise rural life – to attract people with money and skills to move back there by showing them an ideal of a better lifestyle and new opportunities,” Ronnie said. “These are after all the people who pump capital into a town, start new enterprises and create jobs.”
Some audience members asked whether these efforts weren’t being hampered by the fact that many artists move to the platteland, thus starting a process of gentrification that makes property virtually unaffordable.
“Globally, it is always the creative classes, the artists, who move in first, start new projects and spark a process of renewal,” Ronnie said. “Although they may not necessarily be wealthy, they are eager to share their creativity and skills with the local community, which can lead to new opportunities and businesses.”
For the past 10 years, Ronnie and his students have been researching the idea that tourism and some form of festival are the only way to save little hamlets from all but certain demise.
“The reality is that not all towns have the aesthetic appeal or marketing know-how to become sustainable tourist destinations, and most festivals provide just a brief capital injection. Branding is crucial. Sedgefield for example, is marketed as the only slow town in Africa; and Richmond in the Karoo forms part of an international network of Book Towns, and is the only one in South Africa.”
Ronnie feels the answer lies in the creativity of the people who live in the platteland. “They should not let the authorities get away with ineptitude and shady deals so easily. Our research shows that towns only prosper when adequate local entrepreneurs, individuals and churches identify opportunities and capitalise on them rather than wait for the government to do something.”
“One way to ensure the survival of platteland towns is to romanticise rural life – to attract people with money and skills to move back there by showing them an ideal of a better lifestyle.”