Theย Carte Blanche team visited four provinces over the past month to speak to residents about their areasโ biggest service delivery headaches. What we found were signs of failing infrastructure, but also glimmers of hope as communities worked together to save their towns.
EXTRA: Wondering who your ward councillor is and how to contact them? Weโve put together a short guide on how to find your local representative.
FREE STATEย
In the final leg of our elections roadshow, we visit the Free State. Billions of rands in debt and dismal audit outcomes, experts warn municipalities could collapse. Theย Matjhabeng Municipality, which looks after towns like Welkom and Virginia, needs urgent financial interventions.
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LIMPOPO
With theย Kruger National Parkย on its doorstep, tourism is at the heart of the local economy in Limpopo. But with municipalities across the province struggling to provide basic services like clean running water, communities arenโt always able to make the best of these opportunities.
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EASTERN CAPE
Dogged by poverty, poor service delivery and a lack of economic development, the Eastern Cape is South Africa's poorest province and governance at local municipal levelsย doesnโtย get worse than this.ย But despite its challenges, some communities are creating solutions to help change the outcome of their own futures.ย
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NORTH WEST
In the North West, many residents are disillusioned and angry as the infrastructure in almost every town buckles from neglect, and service delivery is often non-existent. We visitedย Rustenburg and spoke to some of the residents in the province's worst-hit municipalities.ย