DULLSTROOM, Mpumalanga – Residents and business owners in the small town of Dullstroom, a popular destination for international tourists drawn to its cool weather, trout fishing, and mountain biking, say they are fighting to prevent their community from becoming a ghost town. Their adversary, they claim, is the Emakhazeni Local Municipality, which they accuse of systemic service delivery failures.
In a stark illustration of the crisis, residents were forced to raise approximately R1.7 million to fund a portable water project. According to a local representative, the town faced “day zero” on water supply due to drought conditions. “Within 40 to 43 days we raised R1.7 million and built a secondary pump station in a dam that was basically redundant to supply two megaliters,” the representative said. “The sad part is the municipality didn’t even thank us.”
Road infrastructure is another major concern. Private companies and local organizations such as Triple D are reportedly maintaining the roads, but a resident described the efforts as “substandard” and unsustainable without municipal contributions. “The municipality doesn’t contribute, they don’t help on that either,” the resident added.
Waste removal has also been inconsistent. Residents say Dullstroom and Belfast share a single refuse truck, forcing staff to work weekends on overtime, which the representative noted is “obviously a big expense to the municipality.” The failure to manage refuse is allegedly driving illegal dumping.
Local farmers expressed outrage at paying high rates and taxes while receiving no services. “The municipality does nothing for us, but they want to tax us,” one farmer said. “That’s one of the issues that we’ve got.”
In response, a municipal spokesperson, identified as Kenneth Nkosi, admitted that the municipality is financially constrained but maintained that it has not neglected the town. Nkosi argued that some roads receiving outcry belong to SANRAL, which is responsible for penalties on those routes, while municipal roads are damaged by heavy trucks from nearby mines. Nkosi added that the municipality is working on upgrading water infrastructure to improve supply.
