Ventersdorp Residents Take Action Amid Ongoing Service Failures and New Hope for Change

Everyday Struggles in Ventersdorp

Ventersdorp, a community in the North West, is grappling with ongoing water and electricity failures that touch nearly every aspect of life. Residents report waking up to power cuts that have lasted through the night, only to discover their taps run dry. For many, this has become the norm, affecting homes, businesses, clinics, and schools.

Local resident Erika Theron describes the daily frustration of living without essential services. Since moving back to Ventersdorp to care for her father, she has witnessed the deterioration of her hometownfrom shuttered businesses unable to bear the costs of generator fuel and water purchases, to mounting piles of rubbish in the streets. “I want to leave the town so badly because there are no opportunities,” Theron says, though she continues to hopeand make plans for a better future.

Service Failures Impacting the Community

Healthcare Disrupted

The local clinic in Tshing informal settlement has reportedly never had running water since its opening, forcing community members to carry buckets for drinking water. Calls to the clinic and provincial health authorities went unanswered, intensifying fears about the basic care that patients receive in such conditions.

Schools in Peril

Schools face a similarly dire situation. Corrie Smith, an employee at Ventersdorp Combined School, recalls days when electricity only returns in the afternoon and the temperature soars to 35°C, making it impossible to keep classrooms and restrooms hygienic. District education representatives say the onus for supplying water and power now falls on schools themselves, sometimes for months on end.

Burden on Businesses

Business owners are not spared: the town’s mini-substation has reportedly been out of operation for three years. As a result, local enterprises must use generators, sharply raising operational costs. Even after community intervention led to a new transformer installation, persistent failures forced some companies to cut operations to as little as four hours of electricity per day. This situation has caused businesses to close or relocate, further straining the local economy.

With the municipality unable to maintain roads, residents have even raised approximately R80,000 to repair potholes themselves, demonstrating a shared determination to fix what’s broken. According to Chamber of Commerce Chairperson Retha Heymans, the community’s spirit is what keeps her in Ventersdorp: “Despite all the problems, we stand together.”

The Consequences of Decline

The town’s challenges stem in part from a controversial 2016 municipal merger. Ventersdorp, once an independent municipality, was incorporated into the JB Marks Local Municipalitywith administrative functions now based in Potchefstroom. Since the merger, residents and local leaders note growing service delivery gaps and stagnation in development. Farmers and businesses, once the economic pillars of the town, have pulled out or scaled down as reliable infrastructure disappeared.

Political Turmoil and Search for Solutions

This sense of neglect has spurred calls for change. Freedom Front Plus councillor Pieter Steyn notes how the loss of local control has been keenly felt, and both FF Plus and the DA have advocated for restoring some form of direct representation and budget allocation to Ventersdorp. Legal challenges by the DA seek to overturn the merger entirely, arguing it has failed to achieve its stated goals.

“The community put pressure on Nersa and somewhere last year they installed a new transformer, but a few days later it was out of order again,” Steyn shared, highlighting residents’ ongoing frustration with repeated setbacks.

A Town Uniting Amid Hardship

Despite the challenges, there is a striking sense of solidarity developing across historic divides in Ventersdorp. Residents from different backgrounds increasingly share the burdenand the determinationto restore their town, whether through fundraising for pothole repairs or working together to manage daily struggles without water or electricity. Facebook groups and community forums serve as places to share solutions and raise morale.

Petrol attendant Kabelo, from Tshing, observes that there are few safe places for children to play and acknowledges the hardship, but welcomes the opportunity for new political leadership to bring about change.

Hope Arises as Political Landscape Shifts

The most recent local government elections brought a hung council to JB Marks Municipality. The DA improved its position substantially, with 21 seats to the ANC’s 22, leaving no party with a clear majority in the 67-seat council. Coalition negotiations are ongoing, and for many Ventersdorp residents, this uncertainty has kindled hope that a new balance of power could finally break the deadlock around service delivery and infrastructure investment.

DA mayoral candidate Theo Venter has promised to declare a state of emergency in Ventersdorp if elected, acknowledging the gravity of the challenges but suggesting the water and electricity issues are not insurmountable. Yet, many residentsafter years of broken promisessay they will wait for real action.

Moving Forward Together

While legal and political battles continue, the community’s willingness to step in where the municipality has fallen short illustrates their resilience. Retha Heymans reflects on the collective effort: “Just to give an example, this year we collected around R80,000 from our community to fix the potholes on the roads.”

For Erika Theron and others, hope persists: “The residents are positive and believe that they can walk a new path with a new municipal administration… that we can tackle all our issues together.”

As Ventersdorp waits to see how political negotiations unfold, the town’s story is one of hardship matched by collective determinationa reminder that a united community can be an enduring force for change, even in the face of daunting challenges.