Local government is broken, but letting locals rule has risks
In some failing municipalities, residents have shown the power of a committed citizenry, which some liken to a constructive kind of anarchy
In December 2020, the high court in Mahikeng, the capital of the North West province, made a controversial order after finding that the Kgetlengrivier local municipality was in breach of its legal obligations. The municipality had failed to deliver water and sanitation. It had also failed to prevent environmental pollution in the towns of Koster and Swartruggens.
The court issued an interim order that the municipal manager be jailed for 90 days, unless the municipality urgently restored water services and stopped sewage flowing into the local rivers. It also ordered that, unless the municipality acted quickly, a local residents’ association take control of the water and sewerage systems. The state would then have to pay the residents for doing the municipality’s job...
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