ROELIE VAN REENEN: Partnerships and the right compass can help rural areas escape death spiral

In aviation, a graveyard spiral is a dangerous dive entered into accidentally by a pilot not proficient enough in navigating an aircraft.

In conditions with low visibility the pilot relies only on his instruments, but without the visual reference of the horizon the pilot can quickly become disorientated. Like the name suggests, it is a grave situation; if you pull back and apply more power, you make it worse. To get out of trouble, you have to assess your surroundings, slow down, level your wings and manage the altitude. In other words, you have to create the right atmosphere — even though it feels counterintuitive — as well as have the technical know-how to make it out alive.  

Just like the unskilled pilot in a graveyard spiral, so too many of SA’s towns in rural or farming areas are finding themselves in desperate situations. According to the National Treasury, of the 275 municipalities in SA, 175 are in financial distress, 40 are battling to deliver basic services, and 102 had adopted budgets for 2021/2022 that they cannot fund. Most of these municipalities are in rural or agricultural towns. This has left individuals, farmers, agricultural role-players and businesses in these areas to look for alternative services or step into the widening service delivery gap by fixing and maintaining the unkept or broken infrastructure themselves. 

The situation is forcing some ratepayers who have long been major economic contributors to close shop and relocate elsewhere. The loss to communities in the form of jobs and incomes is devastating. The implications of this worsening trend are diabolical to contemplate, especially in light of the growing number of municipalities failing to collect revenue from residents and businesses for electricity, water and property taxes.   

What will become of our municipalities if their biggest revenue contributors (businesses) are no longer there because they have been forced to relocate? How will municipalities collect revenue from citizens and ratepayers who find alternatives, such as borehole water and solar power, to supply their homes and businesses and no longer pay the municipality for such services?  It creates a vicious circle. Less income for a municipality will ultimately result in even fewer services being delivered. Good service delivery from municipalities goes hand in hand with quality financial performance.

In this scenario, we may see municipalities charge ratepayers for alternative energy in the form of taxes or fees for owning a borehole or solar panels. This despite the trend around the world of governments incentivising and encouraging citizens to go green and giving them rebates if they move to alternate energy sources.  

We may see the collapse of municipalities if they are unable to collect revenue. This would have the most serious effect on the poor, many of whom are not able to afford private service delivery. We must remember that the more we try to squeeze from good citizens for services that are failing, the more we will get resistance. In the words of Winston Churchill: “… for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle”. Our agricultural towns cannot afford to be decimated, given that they feed our nation. So, what can be done?  

Communities and businesses must continue to put pressure on local government to deliver services by using appropriate avenues. For example: together with others, we have founded the Sol Plaatje Ratepayers Union, the purpose of which is to stand together as taxpayers and ensure the government and the municipality fulfil their responsibilities, to make Kimberley a better place and improve the municipality for all.  

We need to use our voices to hold local government to account, but in turn local government has to be willing to come to the party given the risk of businesses looking for greener pastures. In 2021, we entered into an agreement with the local municipality specifically for this purpose, whereby Beefmaster Group would provide remedial work to the Homevale Waste Water Treatment Works in an effort to restore its function. The partnership sees the municipality responsible for costs and the supply of equipment or parts. Should it fail to uphold its part of the deal, the agreement is forfeited.   

We need to address the problem of continually appointing public servants who are not able to do their jobs due to a lack of skills. Jobs are not done effectively due to factors such as political point scoring. We need to overhaul the municipal structure to better align the job requirements with proper incentives, with a focus on accountability. We need more clean audits so that citizens know their money is being spent in the right places. More must be spent on the maintenance of infrastructure, and less to wasteful expenditure and back pockets.

Focusing on maintenance will also create jobs: if service delivery means building a road, then maintaining that road is another job. Law and order must prevail, because fear of the law right now is less than the fear of being hungry. It is a long road, but this will create an atmosphere where service delivery can improve.    

If municipalities, businesses and all other role players work together to solve common problems we will experience the growth of agricultural communities and develop these into thriving areas. We need to put a stop to poor service delivery and we need to respond constructively. We need to ensure that the farming and agricultural industries remain profitable, a stable source of revenue, and continue to provide job security to those who need it most.

Like the pilots, as strange as it may feel, only once we have created the right climate in which to thrive will we be able to trust our instruments and vision, rather than rely on a "wing and a prayer" to get us out of the graveyard spiral.

• Van Reenen is supply chain executive at SA beef supplier and exporter Beefmaster Group.