Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Jacques van Rensburg and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL. See attached pictures here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) expresses deep concern over the ongoing collapse of key economic development initiatives within the Xhariep District. Despite the existence of critical infrastructure intended to stimulate growth, support small businesses, and create jobs, the Xhariep District Municipality’s Local Economic Development (LED) division has failed to activate or maintain these assets.
The DA will not stand by while the region’s economic potential is squandered. The party will:
- Knock on every available door to open pathways to prosperity for the Xhariep region.
- Petition the LED division of the Xhariep District Municipality.
- Pursue all appropriate oversight mechanisms to ensure accountability and corrective action.
Across the district, millions of rands in public investment now stand idle, vandalised, or abandoned, while communities continue to face severe poverty, unemployment, and declining economic prospects.
The DA notes with alarm the following failures:
1. The collapsed shoe factory at the District Offices
Once presented as a job-creating industrial initiative, the shoe factory located at the district head office buildings has collapsed entirely. The facility, which could have supported local manufacturing and enterprise development, now stands as a monument to mismanagement and neglect.
2. The Taxi rank adjacent to the District Offices
The taxi rank, strategically positioned to support transport services, informal trade, and commuter movement, has been left to deteriorate. Instead of functioning as a vibrant economic node, it reflects the broader stagnation of the district’s urban infrastructure.
3. The abandoned tourism centre in Bethulie
Bethulie is rich in heritage, culture, and tourism potential. Yet the tourism building, constructed to serve as a hub for visitor engagement and local tourism operators, has been abandoned. No activation plan, programming, or leadership have been demonstrated by the LED division to revive this asset.
4. The Dormant Agri Park in Springfontein
The Agri Park was established to support small-scale farmers through:
- Animal health services.
- Training and capacity building.
- Product storage.
- Input acquisition.
Despite its strategic importance to agricultural development, the facility has fallen into disuse. Small-scale farmers, already facing significant challenges, have been left without the support infrastructure specifically designed to uplift them.
What makes these failures even more alarming is that they are occurring directly in front of the Xhariep District Municipality’s LED unit. The buildings exist. The infrastructure exists. The opportunities exist. Yet no meaningful action has been taken to activate tourism, support agriculture, or stimulate business development.
The DA is extremely concerned that millions of rands have been spent on infrastructure that now stands unused, decaying, and vulnerable to vandalism. This is happening in a district where poverty is widespread, joblessness is rising, and communities are desperate for economic opportunity.
The people of Xhariep deserve a functioning, responsive, and development-driven district administration. They deserve economic infrastructure that works, not abandoned buildings and failed projects.