Originally published on 01 January 2022
Kroonstad, in the Free State, had big problems with its services. A group of local business people decided to fix things themselves, changing the town and bringing back community pride.
What was the problem?
Kroonstad had bad roads, broken robots, and pavements that were hard to use. The municipal swimming pool had been closed for over five years, and the town's condition was getting worse. The local government was not helping. Remember, we have a right to have these problems sorted out by our local government. That is why we pay taxes!
But in the meantime, people were losing hope, and they needed to act fast to bring the town back to life.
How did they solve it?
In 2016, a group of local business leaders started the Ignite and Revive Kroonstad movement. They began with simple clean-ups, which slowly brought back hope and pride among the people. They fixed potholes and pavements and reopened the municipal swimming pool.
The group worked closely with the local government, which supported their Adopt a Traffic Circle plan, giving the streets going in and out of town a much-needed facelift. Their hard work led to Kroonstad winning the Kwêla Town of the Year award in 2022, showing how dedicated the people were.
So how did they do it?
- Community Clean-Ups: Started with simple clean-ups to give people hope and pride.
- Infrastructure Repairs: Included road and pavement repairs and the reopening of the municipal swimming pool.
- Collaboration with Municipality: Partnered with the local government, which supported their Adopt a Traffic Circle plan.
- Business Support and Volunteers: Got funding from businesses and mobilised volunteers to keep the town clean and appealing.
- Job Creation: They created about 250 jobs and more chances through SETA-sponsored positions, keeping young people in the area. SETA stands for Sector Education Training Authority. Ignite and Revive Kroonstad was now encouraging other towns in the province to take similar action. The movement was a sign of hope, showing the power of community-led actions.
Local business person John Smith said, "Seeing our town come back to life was incredible. It was amazing what we could do when we worked together."
Getting together to take action
Do you have a community group like a ratepayers association in your area? A well-run group of committed people could work better with local government. Go to the links below to find out how.
Acknowledgements:
Original article written by: Ignite and Revive Kroonstad
Photograph supplied by: Ignite and Revive Kroonstad
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.
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.
Tshwane
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