Ditsobotla, North West Province
Source articles originally published:
published 3 February 2025
published 19 February 2025
Using the muscle of business and the might of litigation, a not-for-profit community association called Ditsobotla Services Association (DSA) has been fighting to restore essential services in the troubled Ditsobotla municipality in the North West province. The DSA has had success in restoring key services to their homes and businesses. They continue to use the courts as a legal avenue to protect basic rights to electricity for ratepayers and residents. They’ve also been able to generate media coverage and awareness about the challenges their community faces, and in so doing, continue to hold local government and officials to account and to find lasting solutions for their district.
What was the problem?
For well over a decade the Ditsobotla district in the North West province has seen deteriorating service delivery and a slide into a state of dysfunction.
The council has racked up massive debt and there is little or no service delivery. There is routine protest action, high anxiety and hopelessness. Residents say they can go six or eight weeks at a time without piped water. There are widespread and sustained electricity outages, a lack of sanitation services and there’s little or no road infrastructure maintenance.
Ditsobotla’s budget deficit is estimated to be around R171 million in the current financial year. The municipality owes Eskom more than R1.2 billion, R200 million to other creditors and household debt is R1.4 billion, according to BusinessTech.
How did they solve it?
In 2023 a community of residents, local businesses and the farming community set up the Ditsobotla Services Association. The not-for-profit organisation pooled resources among members.
They raised funds to install back-up power systems, to buy pumps and motors to keep services working and drilled boreholes. As much as possible they have made this water and electricity available to the broader community.
A critical component of building their strength has been through collaborating with a business organisation called Sakeliga. Sakeliga has as its mission to create and protect a stable environment and infrastructure for business in South Africa to flourish. It is also funded by members and uses litigation and dispute resolution to build legal cases against municipalities failing to deliver.
A key legal challenge in Ditsobotla has been to take Eskom to court to compel the power utility to restore electricity to the district and resolve its dispute of the municipality’s unpaid accounts through the Intergovernmental Relations Act, instead of punishing residents.
They have also challenged the municipality for routinely cutting off electricity to DSA members, citing unpaid bills. Sakeliga has argued that ratepayers who have used proper statutory processes - so-called Section 102 disputes - are protected from having their services cut by the municipality while a dispute is unresolved.
Together with Sakeliga, DSA is building a case for the municipality to be placed under provincial administration. The Constitution allows for provincial intervention when a local government authority does not fulfil its executive obligations.
So how did they do it:
- The community got organised – they started an association that recognised the value of combining resources such as funds, skills, time and labour.
- They found support, sponsorship and partnered with other organisations with similar objectives, in their case – Sakeliga.
- They used legally established procedures for dispute resolution – they used litigation to defend their rights under the rule of law.
- They alerted the media – using the power of publicity to spotlight the challenges of a dysfunctional municipality.
- They kept an open-door policy to assist the municipality and attended meetings aimed at creating dialogue to find ways to end protest action, resolve billing disputes and to restore and sustain service delivery.
- They agreed to be on the side of the broader community, not just DSA members.
Acknowledgements
Author: FixLocal Reporter
Original articles:
Private businesses and residents taking over service delivery in South African towns
Sakeliga and Ditsobotla Services Association restore businesses’ power in Lichtenburg once again
Photograph: Sakeliga
Get your community involved
Is there a community-driven group or caring business in your area? A dedicated group of committed people can effectively solve local problems.
Think about starting or joining community groups like a street WhatsApp group, residents' association, or community policing forum (CPF) to get help and to stay informed and involved in local issues.
How to set up a community group
How to start a residents' association
How to set up a community policing forum
How to set up a neighbourhood watch
How to organise community action
How to use media to create pressure for change
Know your rights – how local government works
It’s important to understand how your local government works so that you can work with them to support what they are doing while your community continues to keep them accountable and deliver services on time. Remember you have a constitutional right to many of the services provided by local government, as well as to accountability and transparency, wherever you live and regardless of how much you earn. It is also where money collected from taxes and rates goes.
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