The Sundays River Valley Citrus Producer Forum, a group of local citrus producers, began assisting the Sundays River Valley Municipality with services in 2014, thinking it would be a temporary fix. However, more than 10 years later, the forum is still providing millions of rands a year to perform the council's work. The forum, representing over 95% of producers and pack houses in the region, collects a levy per export carton to fund basic services and community development.
The forum has three main areas of focus: security, services, and community development. About 50% of the levy collected goes toward security systems and employing two full-time security coordinators. The remaining funds are used for services such as running water, electricity, and sewerage systems, as well as community development projects. The forum spends around R4.7 million a year on these initiatives, which has become a substantial cost to the private sector.
Sundays River Valley Municipality in the Eastern Cape is considered one of the worst-run municipalities in South Africa. The region is a key production area for citrus and home to the Addo Elephant National Park. The municipality has received a disclaimed audit opinion from Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke for the past seven years, indicating a lack of transparency in how municipal funds are utilized.
The municipality's poor management has led to service delivery protests, sewage spills, and repeated audit failures. In July, the National Treasury temporarily blocked the municipality's equitable share payments to enforce discipline and ensure public funds were properly managed. The ANC, which won 10 of the council's 16 seats in 2021, failed to submit lists for proportional representation candidates before the IEC's deadline, potentially denting their chances of maintaining control.
Daily Maverick visited the area and found that sewage spills plagued communities such as Valencia and Moses Mabhida. The forum has helped the municipality with fixing roads and providing equipment, and farmers have also taken on tasks such as maintaining a local dump. The focus is on ensuring basic services like water, electricity, and functional sewage systems are available to the community.
The relationship between the municipality and the Sundays River Valley Citrus Producer Forum has been informal since its inception, but a more formal agreement may be established. The forum's chairman, Hannes de Waal, notes that it's complicated to contract the municipality to do what they're supposed to be doing, as it's their legal responsibility.
As the November 4 elections approach, the situation in Sundays River Valley highlights the challenges faced by municipalities across South Africa. The Auditor-General has identified several municipalities with consistent service delivery failures, including the management of landfill sites and wastewater treatment facilities. The efforts of the Sundays River Valley Citrus Producer Forum demonstrate how local communities are stepping in to fill gaps in municipal service delivery.
Key points
- The Sundays River Valley Citrus Producer Forum spends around R4.7 million a year on basic services and community development due to the municipality's failure to deliver these services.
- Sundays River Valley Municipality has received a disclaimed audit opinion from Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke for the past seven years, indicating entrenched governance failures.
- The municipality's poor management has led to service delivery protests, sewage spills, and repeated audit failures, prompting the National Treasury to temporarily block its equitable share payments.
