South Africa’s countryside, once vibrant with bustling small towns, is in a state of alarming decay, largely attributed to mismanagement by incompetent African National Congress (ANC)-led municipal workers.
These towns, critical to the nation’s agricultural heartland, are crumbling under the weight of poor governance, neglected infrastructure, and a lack of skilled leadership, with little hope of restoration to their former vitality. The ripple effects are severe, threatening the livelihoods of farmers and residents who depend on these rural hubs.
Across South Africa, small towns are collapsing due to municipal failures in delivering basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity, and road maintenance. According to a 2021 report by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), 163 of South Africa’s 278 municipalities were in financial distress, with 40 struggling to provide basic services and 102 adopting unfunded budgets. Rural municipalities, in particular, are the worst affected, with service delivery significantly lagging behind urban areas.
The impact is starkly illustrated by cases like the closure of Clover’s cheese production facility in Lichtenburg, North West, in 2021, due to “ongoing poor service delivery.” This closure cost 380 permanent and 40 temporary jobs, alongside market access for local farmers, devastating the local economy. Similarly, Astral Foods in Mpumalanga lost millions due to unreliable water and electricity supplies from the Lekwa Municipality. These examples highlight how municipal failures directly undermine agribusinesses, which are lifelines for small towns, providing jobs and economic stability.
The decline of infrastructure, such as non-functional railway stations, exacerbates the crisis.
Once vital for transporting agricultural goods, these stations have largely been abandoned, with tracks left to deteriorate or stolen for scrap. Poor road conditions further isolate farmers, increasing transport costs and reducing market access. The Auditor-General’s 2021-22 report revealed that only 18 of 166 audited municipalities received clean audits, with R26 billion in irregular expenditure, underscoring systemic financial mismanagement.
Small towns in South Africa’s countryside are heavily dependent on agriculture, with farmers feeding local economies through produce and employment. The Free State, Mpumalanga, and North West provinces account for 84% of the country’s maize production, yet municipalities’ inability to provide reliable electricity, water, and roads directly threatens farm profitability. For instance, farmers face increased costs when forced to invest in private solutions like boreholes or solar systems due to municipal failures.
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The collapse of the Makgoba Tea Estate in Tzaneen, Limpopo, is a cautionary tale. Once a thriving operation under Lipton, employing over 6,400 people, it was handed over to ANC-affiliated beneficiaries in 2006 as part of land reform. By 2019, the estate was in ruins, overgrown with weeds, stripped of assets worth R121 million, and abandoned, leaving 2,000 workers jobless. This failure reflects broader issues with land reform, where new owners often lack the skills or support to manage productive land, further weakening rural economies.
Residents of these towns can no longer afford to remain passive as ANC-led municipalities continue to erode their communities. The Brenthurst Foundation’s 2024 study found that 60% of small, micro, and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in municipalities with disclaimed audits reported revenue losses, with 93% investing in private systems to offset municipal shortcomings. In Makhanda, Eastern Cape, businesses and residents’ associations like the Makana Business and Residents’ Association have taken on road repairs and water provision, spending millions to compensate for municipal failures.
However, community action alone cannot fully address the crisis. The scale of decay—potholed roads, sewage spills, and broken streetlights—requires systemic reform. The Financial and Fiscal Commission has urged municipalities to prioritize spending on critical services over bloated wage bills, while experts call for competent management, skilled engineers, and accountable leadership.
A Bleak Outlook Without Urgent ReformRestoring these towns to their former state seems unlikely without immediate intervention. The ANC’s governance failures, compounded by corruption and incompetence, have driven businesses away, creating ghost towns where economic activity once thrived. The 2021 Auditor-General’s report noted that 57 municipalities failed to submit audits, with R5.5 billion unaccounted for, signaling a deeper crisis of accountability.
For farmers, the stakes are high. Agriculture, identified by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2020 as a driver of economic growth, relies on functional towns for market access and services. Without reliable infrastructure, the sector’s potential to create jobs and ensure food security is at risk. The government’s Agricultural and Agro-processing Master Plans aim to expand the sector, but these ambitions will falter if municipalities remain dysfunctional. But this Masterplan does not include all the farmers of South Africa.
Residents must take control through community initiatives, legal action, and pressure on local authorities, but national intervention is critical. The government must enforce merit-based appointments, prioritize infrastructure investment, and address corruption. Public-private partnerships and community-led organizations can bridge gaps, but only if supported by transparent, competent governance. Without these changes, South Africa’s countryside risks becoming a shadow of its past, with small towns unable to support the farmers and communities that sustain them.
Residents are urged to join local business and residents’ associations, demand accountability from municipalities, and support advocacy groups like Sakeliga, which are pushing for reforms to halt the fiscal crisis looming over South Africa’s small towns. The time to act is now—before the countryside’s decline becomes irreversible. When you grow up in one of these small towns 30 years and more ago and you saw these towns today- you cannot believe what you see- it heartbroken to see what was built with hard work and not that much money.
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