You’ll never guess who won kykNET’s Kwêla Dorp van die Jaar

Delmas, a small maize farming town situated east of Johannesburg in Mpumalanga was laid out in 1907 on the farm Witklip. It has been administered by a town council since 1965.

The former owner of Witklip farm, a Frenchman called Frank Campell Dumat, named the town [Delmas] after his grandfather’s farm in France.

The farms in the region produce wheat, maize, potatoes and chickens.

Red Star Raceway is probably one of the town’s biggest gems. It is a track school which hosts track days for cars and bikes. There is also a parkrun on the race track every Saturday morning.

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What is the kykNET Kwêla Dorp van die Jaar?

kykNET’s Kwêla Dorp van die Jaar is a competition for small towns run in conjunction with Lottoland. Any town situated in South Africa or Namibia with a population of less than 500 000 can be nominated to enter the competition.

Explaining how the ‘Dorp van die Jaar’ works, DStv says:

“Do your town’s people make the tastiest pastries? Is this the one town in the country where you will always feel at home when you drive down the streets? How many treasures are hidden in your community? Is your slaughterhouse the best kept secret in the country? What are gems in town that you are proud of. Nominate your favorite town now and stand a chance to brag about the town and the people there!”

What does the winning town get?

For the first time since the start of the competition, Lottoland has joined forces with Kwêla with R1 million cash for the victorious town. The money will go towards special projects aimed at improving Delmas. The funds will be audited. Kwêla will visit Delmas at a later stage to show viewers how the money was spent.  

Delmas Herleef, a community-based organisation, plans to buy equipment to repair potholes in and around the town. Next on their list is purchasing skips and establishing a transfer station where rubbish can be dumped. This will lead to the creation of jobs to address the challenges around potholes and the management of rubbish. 

As part of their prize, there will be a festive affair with music, food and fun made even better by the spirit of a winning town. Kwêla’s cameras will be at hand to capture the joy. It will be aired at a later stage. 

kykNET is contributing R1 million in marketing value to Delmas, including an advertisement of 45 seconds about the town to be shown during kykNET’s advertisement slots. 

“We want other towns to learn from us and for Delmas to be an inspiration and example of what can be achieved when people are working together. There is hope for South Africa – and it starts at a grassroots level,” said Dr. Martin van Rensburg, the local dominee and project leader of Delmas Herleef (a community-based organisation), one of the anchors that helped drive Delmas to success.  

The top 9 regional finalists were:

• Delmas (Mpumalanga)
• Parys (Free State)
• Bonnievale (Western Cape)
• Margate (KwaZulu-Natal)
• Walvis Bay (Namibia)
• Hartbeespoort (Northwest/Gauteng)
• Willowmore (Eastern Cape)
• Rooiberg (Limpopo)
• Nieuwoudtville (Northern Cape)

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