Page 66 - Research Report 2025.1

Lack of awareness about the services
A recurring challenge is the lack of awareness among rural residents about the services and opportunities available through municipalities. As highlighted by Participant 1, many community members are unaware that the municipality can assist them in areas such as starting a business or accessing funding. This lack of awareness is compounded by low literacy levels and poor communication channels, which prevent people from knowing about important programs, such as the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
Participant 1
“ You know, there’s a few people who are, it could be literacy levels. There’s few people who know that these these services these are the other services that I can get from municipalities. Very few people know that a municipality can assist you and it is a policy. They assist you to to to open a business free of charge, and they also assist you to tap into some funding places and people. Very few people know that, and,
if people had all of that information or maybe the information about, how you can apply at a university and get your NSFAS and able to study. And I feel if people knew all this information or maybe if they knew that they can be assisted and there are policies that are enforcing government to assist them with these, issues, I think they their livelihoods would be improved..”
Language barrier
Participant 4 pointed out that while policies are made available by the municipality, they are often not written in local or Aboriginal languages. This language barrier makes it difficult for many rural residents to fully understand the policies, preventing them from participating effectively in discussions or decision-making processes related to those policies.
Lack of Power to enforce policies
Despite the presence of policies, many local governments lack the legal authority to enforce them. Participant 3 explained that municipalities often have to rely on other departments to enforce regulations, such as environmental health standards and building safety codes. This lack of enforcement power reduces the effectiveness of policies and leaves communities vulnerable to risks.
Participant 3
Participant 4
There are policies available that talk to what can be done, like bylaws. They are sharable. You can get them from the websites. You can get them from from the archives of the municipality, bylaws, policies, even in the offices of the counsellors or those offices, but the council offices. The documents for for for for for whatever that needs to be done to improve their livelihoods, they are there.
But what I can say is that not all of them are written in Aboriginal languages. Yes, most of them are written in English. And, yeah, there are those that are written in Sesotho or in Xhosa for example.
“We are not law enforcers, we still need other departments to help us enforce. Like with veld fires, we can’t do anything with those that do. For example, the environmental health officials sometimes want to call shops with old food but at times they can’t even close the shop. As much as we have the policies but we are not law enforcers. We tell people to not stay in building that are not good for living in. we have to ask another department to help with the enforcement..”
Red Tape in Policy Implementation
Bureaucratic inefficiencies, or red tape, were identified as a major obstacle by Participant 6, particularly in rural areas like Ntabankulu. Many policies are designed with urban contexts in mind, making them difficult to implement in rural areas with different socio-economic and environmental realities.
Participant 6
“Those red tapes I mentioned. Because sometimes policies, it cuts across. Meant for JHB but cannot be implemented in Ntabankulu.
Disparities in the Allocation of funding
The uneven distribution of resources is another challenge, as noted by Participant 6. Rural municipalities, particularly those that are most disadvantaged, often receive less funding despite having greater needs. This inequitable allocation exacerbates the challenges these communities face in accessing services and infrastructure improvements.
Politicisation of Development
Participant 7 highlighted the politicisation of development,
where political considerations influence the distribution of
services. This often results in unequal access to resources, with members of the ruling political party being favored over others. This political bias undermines the fair and equitable distribution of development benefits.
64 | STUDY OBJECTIVE III
Participant 6
And Yes. And also one other thing is the challenge of equitable share. The way it is being done, disadvantages us. Because
we are most disadvantaged municipality but we can small funding. They don’t kook at the need for resources the most. Where there is a needed for resources they give less. There is a disjuncture in the allocation of resources.
Participant 2
Limited resources in terms of finances that deal with disasters.