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The collapse of basic services in Emfuleni has hit local businesses the hardest, with companies owed by the municipality forced to retrench workers and property prices in the area slashed.
The municipality has been struggling to provide basic services such as electricity, refuse collection and sanitation over the past four years, slowing business dramatically and owners reeling from losses.
Lizette Bezuidenhout, an estate agent in the Vaal, said it has been difficult to sell properties, especially when they are situated next to an open veld or park due to uncut weeds and tree branches.
“People from other towns which have basic services, when we tell them about our challenges here, they lose interest,” Bezuidenhout said.
She said property prices have also shrunk in the past few years as a result of poor service delivery.
“For example, a lady bought a property three years ago for R1.5m but has dropped by R300,000. She cannot sell it for what she bought it for. Flora Gardens was one of the most attractive areas surrounding Vanderbijlpark, but our people are waiting three, four years to sell their properties in the market,” she said. “If we don’t sell, we don’t make money. That is how it has affected us,” she said.
Bezuidenhout said property prices along the Vaal River had not fallen except those situated near sewerage spills which are rife in the area.
Emfuleni has been under provincial government intervention since June 2018.
The municipality total debt is over R4bn with Rand Water and Eskom as the biggest creditors. Small businesses that the municipality relied on for service delivery such as refuse collection and sewerage system were also not paid.
A director of TCM Developments, an engineering company that was contracted by Emfuleni to deal with sewerage problems in Sebokeng, who did not want to be named, said the company is owed R3.5m and non-payment has had a devastating impact on the business.
“We had to retrench nine workers. When we ask for the money, the people on the phone do not say there is no budget. They say send your invoices and promise to pay the following week... we’ve spoken to senior officials about this and still did not get any joy,” she said.
TCM had a three-year contract to unblock sewerage systems in Emfuleni. The contract expired in March last year, but the outstanding money was not paid.
She said she is still willing to do business with the troubled municipality as she’s also from the Vaal.
Another company that has suffered due to non-payment is Tsekema Consulting Engineers. The company was owed R2.27m, but when it was paid three weeks ago, it was too little too late.
“We had to stop work… A lot of people lost their jobs. We had to lay-off 30 people,” said Johan de Lange, engineering manager at Tsekema.
Tsekema was managing electricity meters for the municipality. It converted all large power users to enable the council to read them without having to visit their properties. This was aimed at improving the municipality’s revenue collection.
Their contract ended in June after Tsekema refused an offer to extend because of non-payment.
The tourism sector has also not been spared. Memme Nqhatsetseng, who runs Lekoa B&B and Trading in Bonanne, Vanderbijlpark, said her guests have been complaining about the potholes that lead to her place.
“I am now thinking of getting unemployed youth to close the potholes because for my guests to come to the place it’s very difficult,” Nqhatsetseng.
She said her father collects her waste with his bakkie.
Nqhatsetseng said power cuts have also been severe in the area. This has forced her to install a solar geyser at a cost of R20,000 and a gas geyser for R30,000. She has also used a generator which can cost her up to R400 a day in petrol if there is no power.
She said she was forced to retrench two out of four staff members she had.
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