Some business owners in Standerton are contemplating selling their assets and leaving the town owing to the collapse of the local municipality which has seen them struggle with billing and broken infrastructure.
Some businesses that contribute to the growth of the local economy through creating jobs have in fact been shut already because of the problems faced by the town.
Property and restaurant owner Corne Stoltz told Sowetan he had to put some of the guest houses he owned in the town in the market for sale because of ongoing power cuts.
The Lekwa municipality under which Standerton falls has a long standing unpaid debt to power utility Eskom which has seen the area being hit by blackouts for months.
Stoltz said high municipal rates and faulty billing system which has not been fixed for years compounded his problems. As a result he converted some of the guest houses into private low cost rental accommodation.
"Things have gotten worse for businesses here. We are forced to put our businesses on the market and sell them for whatever that is left in their worth," he said.
Stoltz, who employs 12 people, said he fears that he might have to let go all his employees because of the ongoing unfavourable conditions for business in the area.
"The municipality is charging us deliberately high monthly rates so they can make up for the rest of the residents who have since abandoned paying for their rates and taxes," he said.
"The same municipality forgets that we employ residents who will soon join the unemployment queue like the rest of the town and the country."
Stoltz said the economy of Standerton would require many years to recover the financial losses it has suffered due to a number of problems related to the collapse of the local municipality.
Restaurant owner Lungelo Shabane said he was also considering selling his business and leave the town.
"I now open after 12pm because I have one or two customers during the day and maybe 5 or even none in the evening since the lockdown and because of the daily power cuts," he said.
Shabane said his business has also been slapped with high bills that he had to go and fight over with the municipality.
"If I connect the generator I need to also buy diesel that will cost me R800 in a day for three customers, I'm working at a loss," he said.
Shabane said because waste is not collected in Lekwa, he has to spend about R350 every week for a private service provider but he also pays for municipal rates and taxes.
"I still have to pay my 14 staff members which I can no longer afford," he said.
"The municipality keeps bringing external candidates that do not even have the interest of the residents at heart. I know Standerton used to be one of the richest municipalities in Mpumalanga but all that has faded away in the hands of the ANC."
Chairman of Lekwa Business Chamber Gary van Aswegen said business owners have suffered a lot in the past, but communication with the municipality has taken a positive turn since the appointment of an administrator to the collapsed town.
"We as the business chamber have hope with the new efforts and talks with the administration. We have tabled our challenges because the business sector has seen the closure of about 20 small businesses," he said. Van Aswegen said the businesses suffered overbilling from the previous administration.
"Unemployment has increased because many people lost jobs when businesses closed down. The economy of the town will take about three years to recover, but the opening of business will help speed up that process."
He said the challenge that was common for the closure of the businesses was the constant power cuts.
"The power cuts go up to 8 hours a day. No business would not feel that pinch in the pocket. The bigger businesses are barely hanging on.
Van Aswegen said one of the biggest chicken plants in Standerton, Astral, was suffering and they feared it would consider changing their location.
"We as business people have to make means to maintain the main roads close to our areas of business. It's difficult to even start a new business because no one wants to invest in such a troubled town," he added.
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