News24 | ON THE ROAD | ‘Our library is the only positive we have’ – Bitou residents groan about service delivery

KwaNokuthula in Plettenberg Bay.

Storm Simpson/News24

• Bitou Local Municipality faces an estimated housing backlog of 4 298 families, with some residents, such as Noluthando Grootboom, reporting that they have been on the waiting list since 2008 without being allocated housing.
• The municipality’s standard electricity tariff of approximately R3.50 per kWh is among the higher rates nationally.
• Bitou’s unemployment rate of 25.2% exceeds both the Garden Route District (18.8%) and the Western Cape (20.9%).
• For more political news, visit News24 Politics.

Municipalities along the Garden Route appear to have common problems: housing backlogs, high electricity tariffs, high unemployment rates, and service delivery issues.

News24’s On The Road team recently visited several towns in the Garden Route area.

The housing backlog, electricity tariffs and unemployment issues were evident at the Bitou Local Municipality in the Garden Route District of the Western Cape province.

The municipality recently made headlines when Ikhwezi Political Movement (IPM) Deputy Mayor Nokuzola Kolwapi was seen discharging a firearm during her son’s umgidi (homecoming ceremony) in KwaNokuthula, Plettenberg Bay, in December.

The governing coalition in the Bitou Local Municipality comprises the DA, the Active United Front, and the IPM, holding 7 of 13 council seats.

The council’s approved budget for the 2026/27 financial year comprises an operating revenue budget of R1.139 billion, an operational expenditure budget of R1.113 billion, and a capital expenditure budget of R209.8 million.

READ | Bitou deputy mayor defiant in court over allegations of firing gun during celebrations

News24 met Noluthando Grootboom, 41, who yearns for a house and has been on a housing list for several years.

“I’ve watched younger people than me get houses,” she said.

“I’ve been renting for years. We vote for the ANC and the DA, but nothing helps us. I live with my boyfriend because I do not have a house. I have three kids. I check regularly with the municipality, but they always say I remain on the waiting list.”

KwaNokuthula resident Noluthando Grootboom.

Storm Simpson/News24

Grootboom said she has been on the waiting list since 2008.

Speaking at a summit earlier this year, Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane said South Africa faces a housing backlog of approximately 2.6 million units, affecting more than 12 million people.

The total housing backlog in the Bitou Local Municipality is estimated at 4 298 families, according to data from the 2025 Municipal Spatial Development Framework/Land Use Application.

READ | ON THE ROAD | 3 000 homes, empty promises: Inside Juju Valley’s 10-year wait for services

Zolani Rhuneli, a resident of KwaNokuthula, alleges that the municipality only appoints the same people to its employment programmes.

“They don’t want to give us jobs. They employ the same persons [for contracted jobs]. We don’t know if it’s used as a political tool,” Rhuneli said.

“The service delivery is fine, but the electricity cost is very high. If you buy electricity for R100, you get very few units.”

KwaNokuthula resident Zolani Rhuneli.

Storm Simpson/News24

According to GridPulse, a real-time South African electricity-tracking platform, the standard electricity tariff in the municipality is about R3.50 per kWh (including VAT) for a single-phase domestic prepaid meter user who averages about 550 kWh a month.

The municipality allows qualifying low-income or lifeline households to use up to 50 kWh free of charge, according to its tariff policy.

The narrow unemployment rate in Bitou stands at 25.2%, according to recent municipal economic data from the municipality’s 2026 long-term financial plan.

The report said: “It’s above that of the district (18.8%), province (20.9%), but lower than the country (32.6%). It must be noted that the current narrow definition of the unemployment rate excludes discouraged workers – thus it is reasonable to assume that the true figure, upon inclusion of discouraged workers, is far higher. Trade (5 715 jobs) remained the predominant provider of employment in Bitou in 2024, followed by finance (4 794 jobs).”

Grootboom said:

They come here to do door-to-door campaigns… But we don’t have jobs. Then they ask us, the very same people without jobs, to vote for them.

Lusindiso Thiwane, a shack dweller in an informal settlement in The Crags, also in Plettenberg Bay, complained about the municipality’s failure to collect rubbish in their township.

“There are public, shared toilets, but they are not clean. At times, the water goes out for a day or two without notice. I want to leave the place and maybe live more centrally in Plettenberg Bay. The only positive thing about Crags is that we have a library,” Thiwane said.