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The DA in North West is appalled by the extent of neglect and decay of Ventersdorp in the JB Marks Local Municipality following the ANC’s gerrymandering of the municipal boundaries in order to secure an ANC majority in Potchefstroom before the 2016 local government elections.

In 2016, the ANC, through its then Minister of COGTA, Pravin Gordhan, took a decision to merge the Ventersdorp and Tlokwe Local Municipalities into the single JB Marks Local Municipality despite opposition from residents and a cautionary warning from the DA that this merger will see the deterioration of service delivery and governance. The DA was set to win an outright majority in the then Tlokwe Local Municipality, where we were in government before.

During our oversight inspection on Friday, the DA found a town severely neglected and in advanced state of general decay. There is a general collapse of basic infrastructure, from poor roads due to a lack of maintenance, dilapidated municipal offices and recreational facilities, incomplete RDP houses, water and sanitation issues, lack of refuse removal, as well as regular electricity supply interruptions.

Incomplete RDP houses which clearly do not meet technical and general guidelines of the national housing code is scattered throughout the Toevlug community. Even the foundations are not aligned with the external walls of the RDP homes posing a safety risk to beneficiaries meant to occupy the properties. See images here, here and here.

The sports grounds located on Koekemoer Street and Tshing township have both been abandoned and the structures that remain are near collapse. See images here and here.

The DA paid a visit to the JB Marks municipal ‘satellite offices’ located at the old Ventersdorp municipal offices to conduct an oversight inspection, but we were met by security personnel from White Leopard Security and Tshedza Protective Services who tried, unsuccessfully, to intimidate and prevent us from conducting the inspection.

Ventersdorp residents have approached the DA claiming that they face the same hostility by these security companies when they visit the municipal offices to enquire about their municipal bills or to report service delivery issues.

The municipal offices in Ventersdorp torched in 2015 have not been renovated placing the lives of municipal staff members and residents at risk. See image here.

The general collapse in basic service delivery, specifically the provision of water, electricity and sanitation services has seen some government facilities such as the newly built Tshing Community Library and the public pool shut down. The lack of water and electricity supply is making it near impossible for local businesses and the agri-sector to operate. The erratic supply of water and extended electricity blackouts in addition to loadshedding forces additional and avoidable financial costs on business owners and farmers, threatening jobs and food security.

Although basic service delivery has steadily collapsed throughout the JB Marks Local Municipality, Ventersdorp is in an advanced state of collapse due to the ANC government’s neglect of the town since 2016. This was bound to happen due to the geographical distance between Ventersdorp and the seat of JB Marks in Potchefstroom.

The DA supports calls for the reversal of the amalgamation of Ventersdorp and Potchefstroom and during Premier Bushy Maape’s state of the province address, we will call on the North West Provincial Government to support the DA’s position to split the two municipalities with the Municipal Demarcation Board during the course of this year as we consider the realignment of municipal boundaries towards the 2026 local government elections.

The merger of Ventersdorp and Potchefstroom has been a disaster and this needs to be corrected.

Issued by Freddy Sonakile MPL - DA North West Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs