“We did it!”

A headline in the Middelburg Observer.

The town was caught up in unprecedented euphoria.

It was 2015: “Middelburg Town of the Year” headlines trumpeted.

The mayor was the respected Mike Masina.

Six years later, the daily newspaper Beeld announced on its front page: “From town of the year to ash dump”.

Now it is 10 years later.

What will the Middelburg of 2015 look like in 2025?

How do residents feel?

It is often heard that “we are becoming a second Witbank”.

A hardworking committee member of 2015, Dr Kobus Terblanche, doesn’t hold back:

“Motorist driving like hooligans are thriving. Red traffic lights are there for sissies. Pleas to highly paid councillors for speed bumps fall on deaf ears.”

He is particularly upset about the environment around the Klein Olifants River.

“Littering along the river, our most precious untapped asset, is appalling.”

He highlights positive developments over the last 10 years; the emergency groups “who are doing a wonderful job. My hat’s off to them. The residents who selflessly man it are my heroes.”

He also has high praise for the Middelburg Heritage Association which is actively involved in preserving our incredible historical treasures, and who will be hosting Heritage South Africa’s annual symposium here in coming weeks.

Former mayor Mike Masina says “the standard of service delivery has declined as a result of political interference.”

However, he adds, “I think in terms of patriotism Middelburg stood shoulder high and very few towns could compare to our town.”

“The residents of Middelburg feel duty bound about payment of services because they understand that there can be no quality services without payment.

“It is going to take the same patriotism for the beloved people of our town to unite against corruption and demand restoration of Middelburg to it’s former glory.”

In particular, an unreliable water network and drains that overflow for weeks have left residents red-faced for the last 10 years.

Ms. Karin Luck wrote on social media last week “my elderly parents wake up with a smell and go to sleep with a smell. It’s disgusting! The smell comes from a drain in Asalia Street by the Klein Olifants River. No one can live like that. The municipality is rotten. Like the smell along the river.”

But what has really deteriorated in the past 10 years?

The Kees Taljaard Sports Centre is deteriorating dramatically.

The cemetery is no longer maintained as it used to be.

The Dennnesig dams that were a pleasure where residents had picnics, are an eyesore where sewage freely flows from manholes for weeks.

There is no longer a road resealing programme, which is causing roads to crumble quickly. The town’s road network is deteriorating rapidly.

Grass is being cut less and parks are unkempt because there is no maintenance.

Bricks lies on sidewalks for weeks after work has been done.

In residential areas, ditches are being dug and, as in Jan Kemp Street, the ditch was still left that way after six months.

Street lights are being repaired at a snail’s pace, resulting in increasing replacement backlogs.

The municipal police, who are supposed to maintain law and order, allow parks and parking lots, such as at Tosca Centre, to be littered.

The traffic department, especially in John Magagula Street and the town centre, allows taxis and delivery vehicles to disrupt traffic.

It is shocking that traffic lights have been out of order for weeks and in many cases have been replaced by stop streets.

The entrance to our town’s name was vandalised six months ago and left as is. We are now “Midd”.

To top it all, the Public Protector has launched an investigation into STLM over continued failure to reimburse residents with refunds.

On the positive side:

There is still an effort to clean up the litter that residents freely dump.

Potholes have been fixed.

There is a real effort to eradicate corruption.

The Dennesig North development has been successfully.

Green bins are regularly emptied.

In some areas, kerbs are being tidied up.

But the overall picture remains one of decline.

Would you vote for Middelburg to be Town of the Year today?