Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning

(a)        (i) Kannaland Municipality:

1.  Water

Aging bulk water supply infrastructure and ongoing vandalism remain the primary challenges affecting the quality and reliability of service delivery. In Ladismith, vandalism at the wellfield, along with disruptions to the electricity supply, significantly undermined the town’s water resilience and security during recent periods of drought. Earlier this year, the town faced prolonged water shortages, prompting two cheese factories to consider relocation. Such a move would have had severe economic consequences, potentially triggering a local crisis and resulting in widespread job losses.

28. Electricity

Ageing infrastructure and vandalism, compounded by the lack of backup power for critical systems—such as water pumps and other essential equipment—compromising the continuity of basic electricity supply and related service delivery, including water provision and wastewater treatment. This, in turn, leads to environmental pollution and poses serious health risks to the community.

55. Waste Services

•    The lack of municipal waste minimisation systems or mechanisms, as these are non-existent in the region.

•    The inability to implement waste diversion mechanisms led to a substantial amount of wastepickers being on the landfill to collect metals only, while tons of recyclable waste remain on landfills.

•    The Municipality does have a final Organic Waste Diversion Plan (OWDP) which was submitted to DEA&DP; however, no implementation has commenced.

•    No drop offs are available for residents to use, but there is a recycler in the area willing to help the Municipality with diversion.

•    No assistance has been forthcoming by the municipality to assist the recycler, who currently rents a space from the Municipality to do waste separation. Assistance from Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) has been forthcoming.

•            There is not a waste system for informal settlements.

•    The only mechanism in place to combat illegal dumping is signage and area cleaning with minimal awareness campaigns 

•            It was also noted that staff shortages exist.

•    The Municipality is also not responsive to requests for assistance from the Department.

              (ii) Matzikama Municipality:

1. Water

Ageing bulk water supply infrastructure and ongoing vandalism remain the primary challenges affecting the quality and reliability of service delivery. Past incidents of vandalism to the water network in Vredendal resulted in prolonged water outages in Vredendal North, South, and Vanrhynsdorp. The disruption caused significant community dissatisfaction, culminating in protests and the temporary closure of the N7 at Vanrhynsdorp last year. In another incident, vandalism of a sewage pump station in Vredendal North caused extensive flooding. This not only posed a serious health risk but also endangered lives, as exposed electrical cables created the potential for electrocution.

28. Electricity

Ageing infrastructure and vandalism, compounded by the lack of backup power for critical systems—such as water pumps and other essential equipment—compromising the continuity of basic electricity supply and related service delivery, including water provision and wastewater treatment. This, in turn, leads to environmental pollution and poses serious health risks to the community.

55. Waste Services

Matzikama Municipality is currently utilising the current Regional Landfill Site (RLS) since May 2025. Management of private waste materials at the existing RLS is a concern.

Upgrading of and/or construction of additional waste transfer stations within the Matzikama Municipal Jurisdictional area is lacking; however the Municipality will prepare and submit a Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) funding submission in due course.

Matzikama Municipality waste challenges:

•            The Municipality has no known waste minimisation system in place.

•    The Municipality has no approved bylaw other than a draft which is in existence for a few years.

•    Waste minimisation rests solely on the private recyclers who have garnered support from PROs, but with limited support from the Municipality in the form of funding and equipment, amongst others. The municipality is providing support in alternative non-financing ways.

•            Illegal dumping is still a problem.

•    No Organic Waste Diversion Plan is in place, even though the final 100% diversion target is 2027. This has been requested on numerous occasions, and this is one of two municipalities whose OWDP is still outstanding (Beaufort West Municipality being the other).

•    Waste collection trucks are also a problem for the Matzikama Municipality.

      (b) (i) Kannaland Municipality:

To address the aging bulk water supply infrastructure and vandalism, the Department of Local Government in conjunction with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) have appointed professional service providers in May 2025 to conduct the Klein Karoo Regional Water Supply System (KKRWSS) Study. The purpose of the study is to assess the current bulk water supply infrastructure and to identify which specific infrastructure requires either upgrading and/or refurbishment. The study will quantify the need, which will enable the Department to secure adequate funding to rectify the water supply infrastructure shortcomings.

In addition to the above, the Department has appointed professional geo-hydrologists to assist the Kannaland Municipality to develop groundwater development plans as well as to complete Water Usage License Applications (WULA’s) for submission to the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation (DWS).                 

To date, the Department has provided targeted financial and technical support to municipalities aimed at improving service continuity and enhancing energy resilience in response to persistent load shedding challenges.

                  During the 2023/24 financial year, the Department allocated R1,075 million to Kannaland Municipality for the procurement and installation of emergency diesel generators. These generators were specifically deployed to supply backup power to critical infrastructure, including water pumps and other essential equipment, to ensure the continuity of basic services during power outages.

                  This intervention was a direct response to the impact of load shedding on municipal operations and forms part of a broader strategy to improve short-term energy security at the local level.

                  From a waste management perspective:

• The DEA&DP supported seven (7) female waste pickers that were sorting waste on the Ladismith waste disposal facility through the ‘Give Dignity’ drive in 2022/23 by providing them with ‘dignity bags’.
• The Department has in the past met with various decision makers in the Municipality to promote the implementation of waste minimisation. These engagements were done with the recycler who formed part of the initial wastepreneur project. It is important for the municipality to drive this, which has not yet come to fruition.

              (ii) Matzikama Municipality:

                  The Department of Local Government: Municipal Infrastructure (DLG:MI) technical staff conduct weekly “check-in” meetings with the technical director and/or water- and sanitation manager of the municipality. Ad hoc technical issues are discussed / solved and reported at monthly DLG Support plan meetings.  DLG Municipal Infrastructure Forum meetings are conducted twice a year to workshop and discuss relevant technical issues and challenges within municipalities and to present new technologies to improve service delivery.

To address the aging of bulk water supply infrastructure, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) have secured R 47 million towards phased bulk water supply upgrades at Vredendal Raw Water Pumpstation as well as to the Vredendal Water Treatment Works over the next three (3) financial years.

To address vandalism, security cameras and monitoring equipment have been installed at the Vredendal Raw Water Pumpstation as well as to the Vredendal Water Treatment Works.

                  DLG technical staff attend Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) scheduled project funding appraisal meetings to ensure alignment of funding mechanisms across all stakeholders.

                  DLG have secured Municipal Water Resilience Funding towards water supply infrastructure upgrades for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years to the value amounts of R 4 million and R 3,8 million.

                  To date, the Department has provided targeted financial and technical support to municipalities aimed at improving service continuity and enhancing energy resilience in response to persistent load shedding challenges.

                  During the 2023/24 financial year, the Department allocated R1,050 million to Matzikama Municipality for the procurement and installation of emergency diesel generators. These generators were specifically deployed to supply backup power to critical infrastructure, including water pumps and other essential equipment, to ensure the continuity of basic services during power outages.

                  This intervention was a direct response to the impact of load shedding on municipal operations and forms part of a broader strategy to improve short-term energy security at the local level.

                  In terms of Waste Management support for Matzikama Municipality:

• A two-day waste minimisation and co-design workshop was held with the Matzikama Municipality and the community in Vredendal on the 21 February to 22 February 2024 at Vredendal North Community Hall. In preparation for the workshop the department met with the Matzikama Municipality the day before the workshop to discuss the current status of waste management and some of the challenges they were experiencing.
• DEA&DP also provided feedback on areas of importance such as lack of reporting on the IPWIS system, lack of waste minimisation projects and lack of support to SMMEs as well as the absence of an organic waste diversion plan. The municipality committed to attending the two-day workshop. Ward councillors were also contacted to ensure DEA&DP staff had access to the communities, Buy Back Centres, waste pickers and SMMEs and that they too were invited to attend the workshop.

                  Over the two-day engagement a total of 63 participants attended that consisted of municipal staff, local businesses that included SMMEs, buyback centres, waste reclaimers, ward councillors, community members and officials from Cape Nature.

                  A major focus on the engagements was to get traction on waste minimisation efforts and create projects in the Vredendal area that would lead to waste diversion with the participation and support of the SMMEs and waste reclaimers. The Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) PETCO was also in attendance to assist with these efforts and presented to the participants to provide business support as far as possible and a general discussion on some of the challenges and solutions. A product of these engagements was the development of a waste minimisation and co-design report with an action plan developed by the community; however, this plan still needs to be implemented with the assistance from the Matzikama Municipality.

• The Department collaborated with the PRO Polyco in 2024 to successfully hand over six (6) branded trolleys and PPE to a local SMME located in the Vredendal area of Matzikama Municipality to assist with waste minimisation efforts. The local business has since implemented a waste reclaimers program that has created employment for six (6) waste reclaimers and has partnered with local businesses in the area for collection and logistical support. The local business is also working closely with the Matzikama municipality to track and report on waste diversion data which will be made available to the department as well and has been part of the Municipality’s Waste Minimisation Symposium that took place in May 2025, which DEA&DP also attended in support of the municipality.

                  The Department also provided support to guiding the development of their Organic Waste Diversion Plan (OWDP), which is still not submitted to the Department.

      (c)   (i) Kannaland Municipality:

                    In addition to the emergency generator interventions, the Department has initiated further strategic support to promote long-term energy planning and sustainability within municipalities.

                    For the 2024/25 financial year, the Department has allocated R522,000 to Kannaland Municipality to enable the update of their Energy Master Plan. This document serves as a critical tool to guide the municipality's future energy initiatives, infrastructure investments, and sustainability programmes.

                    These allocations and planning support initiatives reflect the Department’s commitment to strengthening local government capacity, ensuring service continuity, and advancing energy resilience at the municipal level.

                        Additionally, DLG has allocated R2,44 million, R4 million and R2,4 million for the 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years respectively under their Water Resilience Grant towards the Kannaland Municipality. The grant is aimed at enhancing Kannaland Municipality’s water resilience, with the municipality implementing various water focused projects throughout their towns including Ladismith, Zoar and Calitzdorp.          

                       Provincial Executive initiated an intervention in terms of Section 139(5) to impose a mandatory Financial Recovery Plan on the Municipality. National Treasury is finalising the Financial Recovery Plan (FRP), which has been delayed significantly by the Municipality failing to co-operate. Municipality indicated that it now intends to comply with the FRP process followed by the re-institution of a Section 154 Support Plan.

              (ii) Matzikama Municipality:

                    DLG has also secured Municipal Intervention Grant funding towards numerous improved governance projects within the municipality e.g. appointment of communication officer (R 400,000). Furthermore, the Department provided R600,000 and R300,000 respectively in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years for the appointment of Technical Directors.

                       In addition to the emergency generator interventions, the Department has initiated further strategic support to promote long-term energy planning and sustainability within municipalities.

                    For the 2025/26 financial year, R680,000 has been allocated to Matzikama Municipality to update its Energy Master Plan. This will support the municipality in identifying viable pathways towards energy resilience, improved operational efficiency, and eventual self-sustainability in service delivery.

                    These allocations and planning support initiatives reflect the Department’s commitment to strengthening local government capacity, ensuring service continuity, and advancing energy resilience at the municipal level.

                     For Waste Management, the DEA&DP has put the following measures in place

                  Western Cape Recycling Action Group (RAG) events to aid and support the improvement of waste minimisation practices and garner support for struggling SMMEs. These events are networking platforms where municipalities can network with other stakeholders on best practices and gain access to support for projects.

• Assisting various recyclers in the region to gather improved support for materials that are difficult to sell considering markets are far from these areas.
• Hosted an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Municipal collaboration network workshop between municipalities and PROs to access support from the PROs who are willing to aid municipalities in improving waste minimization in their respective municipal areas. The attendance of this engagement would have helped both these municipalities who are both heavily reliant on private recyclers who is the sole source of waste minimisation in their regions.
• Organic Waste workshops are held to help municipalities gain information on advancements in the sector that can be implemented within their respective municipalities.