In Meyerton, Gauteng, the seat of Midvaal municipality, nothing stirs. The quiet avenues and mown verges are pristine. The only rubbish is neatly stacked in refuse bags, awaiting collection.
The residents are similarly silent. A woman, approached to ask if she'll vote to return the DA administration to the council that has scored a clean audit for many years, said she would have to ask her husband if she may comment. He declined.
An elderly couple down the road said they are too old to voice an opinion.
The queue at the municipal offices was more lively.
“I was here last Monday to get my municipal bill. I’m here again but the queue is long,” said Bert Higgins, visibly upset. But other than not receiving his statement on time, Higgins is happy with the municipality, where almost 60% voted DA in 2016. “They are quite good, but they have to speed things up,” he said.
Nearby, Hesther Bruwer said she is happy with how the municipality is run and satisfied with her safety. “Here the roads are well maintained. You do not get potholes,” she said.
Another person queuing, Seipati Mtsi from Meyerton Park, disagreed. “We pay rates and taxes but our streets are dirty. They take refuse on Mondays, but sometimes a day passes without it being collected”.
And Daleside's Busi Ngcobo won't be voting this year, saying: “I have been voting all these years, but I have not benefited anything from it.”
The picture in Sicelo informal settlement, 13km away, is vastly different. There is no running water and its access road shows no signs of maintenance. There is litter everywhere, the roadside a dumpsite where children play. A strong stench emanates from the portable plastic toilets.
Kamohelo Mokwakwe was washing his clothes in a steel basin outside his shack. “You see this girl? She is my daughter. She is 18 years old, and she was born here. I’ve been living here in this shack for 21 years.”
Mokwakwe and his neighbours collect water from a Jojo tank about 1km away. He has never had electricity, and the bucket toilet he and his family use is all they know. He said he will vote this year, but “not for the ANC because I have had no joy in the past 21 years. I will choose a different party to vote for.”
Neighbour Buyisile Tsholobe said Midvaal does not deserve its accolades.
“We asked the municipality to install speed humps, because every weekend our children get hit by cars. Crime is rife because taverns are open until the early hours. There are no street lights. The only one we have is not working,” she said. “If you go to town, it is clean and well kept, but here we live in filth.”
ANC regional chair Tefo Molakeng said: “It’s unfortunate to say the Midvaal municipality has been claiming to be getting clean audits, but they are not providing basic services.”
Outgoing mayor Bongani Baloyi denies ANC claims that the DA neglects poor black communities, saying housing provision is the job of the provincial government, which has built only 230 houses in Sicelo in 10 years.
He said the local authority has built a reservoir to supply water to Sicelo, resettled 200 residents to stands with taps, built a community centre and tarred roads.
“Where there is a direct municipal competency, we have done well. There are areas that speak to the cleanliness of the area. There is regular refuse collection, but illegal dumping,” he said.
DA mayoral candidate Peter Teixeira insisted Midvaal is “doing well”, saying: “We have a proven track record of clean governance. We are spending the ratepayers’ money where it should go.”
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