Current Edition >> Archives Section >> Leading Stories >> 1-16 March 2005

New municipal councils can make or break Free State economy

Given the key importance of infrastructure maintenance and provision and seen against the background of huge developmental projects currently imminent at several Free State towns, then the ability of delivery by the newly elected municipal councils in the province could indeed result into a make or break situation.
Amongst the towns where huge developmental projects are on the cards are the following :
• Bothaville : Construction of SA's first bio- ethanol plant at a cost of R700 million and set to create some 10 000 jobs is due to start there in two month's time. As such it is set to impact heavily on the local socio-economic scene, placing inter alia considerable additional burden on infrastructure such as street maintenance, sanitation and water and electricity supply. Would the Nala Local Municipality be able to rise to the new requirements and let the town keep pace with the new developments?
During the past five years there was a notable poor relationship between the local council and the business sector with amongst others some court proceedings.
• Frankfort : The town is targeted for two large developments, the first being a classy residential development on 166 stands on the bank of the Wilge River to the tune of some R200 million. Tenders for the project are due out soon. The second is that Frankfort has also been earmarked for a bio-ethanol plant of the same magnitude as the one at Bothaville.
Again, the question arises whether the local municipality, in this instance Mafube Local Council, would be able to supply and maintain the infrastructure needed to sustain a rather sudden swelling of the local economy?.........................................
Also again there is the case of a local business enterprise having taken the Mafube Council actually to court for poor service delivery as regards sanitation and resultant alleged damages suffered.
• Kroonstad : The town is at present the selected venue for advanced planning of a dedicated cargo airport with billions of rand and as many as 12 x 747 cargo aircraft landings per day at stake. Whether this envisaged project is to materialize, is still an open question, but certainly one of the considerations is the issue whether the local municipality again one with a controversial performance record can be relied on as far as infrastructure is concerned.
Near Kroonstad two new diamond mines are furthermore currently awaiting the outcome of prospecting licensing applications and should these come through, it could also affect the local economy and infrastructure significantly.
• Sasolburg : This most advanced industrial centre in the Free State is also in line for huge new projects, such as the construction of a 100 kilotonnes per annum soya bean- based biodiesel plant being investigated jointly by Sasol and the Central Energy Fund................................................
Sasolburg is one of the shortlisted venues.
Again the ability and capacity of the local council, Metsimaholo, comes under scrutiny.
• Other centres with either current or planned large projects are e.g. Clarens, where a golf estate with some 250 luxury residential units is under construction; Bloemfontein with its mushrooming residential developments west of the city; Welkom Naudéville where a mega residential project of some R100 million is kicking off; Parys where at least two new multi-million rand golf estates with a large number of residential units are under construction; etc.
Local and district municipalities have their so-called IDP's (integrated development plans), but the past five years very little of this has actually been seen. In addition, municipal service delivery was generally so poor that local residents rose in violent protests, while the quality of a basic commodity like drinking water in many towns is deteriorating drastically. As a consequence, national and provincial government had to institute Project Consolidate to prop up service delivery.
About the reasons for the regress in local government management an intense debate could be conducted, but the factual situation points to an inevitable conclusion : The quality of service delivery of the newly elected municipal councils could make or break the Free State socio-economically over the next five years.