state of the nation
Inside the municipal death spiral
Small-town South Africa is crumbling. Stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of water and power cuts, in streets piled high with refuse and with no jobs available to offer a way out, residents have had enough
09 February 2023 - 05:00
In the North West municipality of Ditsobotla, carcasses from a butchery stink up the pavement across the road from the municipal building. From a distance, the building itself is unassuming — abandoned, even. The gate leading to the parking lot is bolted shut. The windows are shattered; brittle glass — what’s left of it — frames cavernous rooms.
Get close enough, however, and you’ll see heavily armed security guards at every entrance. Razor wire reinforces the distance between residents and the beret-wearing security guard, who sits, clipboard in hand, with a firearm propped up against his chair...
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