BETHAL – “Pragdorp – gesinsdorp – geleentheidsdorp” (beautiful, family friendly and full of possibility) used to be the motto of this town.
Many who grew up in the town of Bethal and surrounding areas most probably have fond memories and stories to tell of the town, such as the annual National Potato Festival or fun family days at the Bethal Dam.
All these memories evaporate when you enter Bethal today.
The sad and shocking state is that of a town where residential roads are completely infested with potholes, electricity boxes are open and exposed, concrete drain covers have collapsed, traffic lights are out of order, sewage water flows down the roads, there are numerous illegal dumping sites and littering, there are no street names or signs, and the residents suffer without electricity.
These are just a few of the many challenges and issues residents face every day.
Many residents believe they are buying prepaid electricity upfront and should therefore be allowed to have use of electricity when they need it.
A local businessman who wishes to remain anonymous said: “I am a frustrated ratepayer who just wants to be able to watch my TV or for my children to be able to do their school work without power interruptions.”
“We want to work together as a community to get our town up and running again. We want to be able to use our prepaid electricity without any power interruptions.”
“I recently had to buy new tyres for my SUV due to the damage made by driving through potholes.”
He had thought that when the N17 had been built, it would have directed trucks away from residential areas, but even more trucks have since been driving through the residential areas, putting people at risk and badly damaging roads.
“Our town is dilapidated. We want the same services as Secunda,” said the resident.
The Ridge Times has previously reported on the work AfriForum does to repair potholes and taking on projects to help the town of Bethal.
Also read: Bethal and eMzinoni residents want answers about their electricity
Ms Ingrid Human from AfriForum, said: “We placed about 30 rubbish bins throughout the town. We have also taken on projects by cutting verges in and around Bethal.”
“Every pothole that you see which has been covered and fixed in this town, was done through AfriForum.”
AfriForum erected donated water tanks in areas where there are water shortages.
AfriForum is also growing a vegetable garden which will be a source of food supply for Helpende Hand and the retirement village.
DA councillor, Ms Ciska Jordaan said: “The state of Bethal town is an absolute tragedy and the apparent unwillingness of the ANC-led Govan Mbeki Municipality to do right by its residents, is a shameful disgrace.
“It is no secret that residents suffer because of a total lack of service delivery and utterly dilapidated infrastructure, not to mention the daily load shedding that is currently taking place – sometimes for up to 10 hours a day.”
According to Ms Jordaan the DA has been fighting for the delivery of services in Bethal, yet the response from the municipality is like a broken record or a default answer to any and all problems in Govan Mbeki: several reasons, excuses and turnaround strategies, but simply no apparent financial means or will to implement any lasting solutions.
“We have been reporting to officials and gone from pillar to post in attempting to solve the electricity problem by doing oversight almost daily in the area since the onset of the electricity crisis, we have written to the municipal manager and the executive mayor and requested interventions from the Gert Sibande District Council as well as the MEC for Cogta. Along with this issue, residents bear the brunt of the constant flow of sewage through the town, water scarcity outside of the lockdown, potholes in each and every street and illegal dumping, risking their health, safety and dignity.
“Today, informed by the oversight visits that have been done in the area, we will be submitting our own proposal for the repair of electrical infrastructure and the general state of Bethal along with our inputs for inclusion in the IDP and consideration in the 2020/2021 budget of the municipality. We are also grateful that following an urgent request from the DA, finally the Mpumalanga MEC of Cogta, Mr Mandla Msibi, has committed in writing that the department will intervene in the unresolved electricity crisis crippling Bethal and eMzinoni,” Ms Jordaan said.
Ridge Times was yet to receive comment from GMM at the time of going to press. Questions regarding this story, as well as photos were emailed to the communications department. A WhatsApp message was also sent, but no response has been received.
