According to the NFP, there is no political will to develop rural areas.
Elections 2026
Supporter holds an ANC flag during a march to Luthuli House on 15 July 2022. Picture: Michel Bega / The Citizen
Acting secretary-general (SG) of the National Freedom Party (NFP), Gregory Ngobese, says people from rural KwaZulu-Natal will continue flooding into big cities because there is no political will to develop rural towns.
He spoke to The Citizen in a recent sit-down interview in Dundee about the challenges that affect municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.
The trip is part of The Citizen‘s travels across the length and breadth of the country to explore the lives, struggles, successes, and frustrations of everyday South Africans ahead of this year’s local government elections.
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View Map“There is so much immigration from people in rural areas to these smaller towns and from these smaller towns to Johannesburg, Mpumalanga, and other provinces because there is less development in these areas.
“There is money in the municipalities, there is a plan, but there is no capacity,” he said.
He said his party has a five-point plan that can save municipalities in KZN and keep people from migrating to other provinces for a better life.
Capacity building
Ngobese believes that if the right people are placed in the right government jobs, municipalities can function and grow effectively.
“Imagine you can have a councillor that cannot even begin to interpret a single agenda item. Then we have a problem.”
He said his party has made it policy that all their public representatives in the upcoming local government elections must at least be able to read and write.
“That means being able to interpret all these documents that are being distributed in municipalities and workplaces,” he said.
Development after 1994
Ngobese said it is shameful that 32 years after democracy, some part of KZN remains the same way it was during the apartheid era. He blamed the ANC for this.
“We lack leadership, even on a national level. I think the ANC should have done better. I should actually say they have failed the people of South Africa because most of these challenges we have, the unemployment, the poor health system, the poor education system, the social imbalances in our society – they should have been addressed 30 years ago,” he said.
Ngobese says the ANC will continue losing support in KwaZulu-Natal because of “corruption” and “ignorance.”
“Corruption plays a big role in setting back the progress of the people, and it is not acceptable,” he said.
Collection of rates
Ngobese says another problem with municipalities in KZN is that most of them rely on grants from the National Treasury. He said rate collection is a challenge for most of these municipalities.
“If you keep relying on a grant as municipalities, how are you going to pay for services? How will you make sure that the safety of the towns and surrounding towns is in a good place?
“If they have no plan about how to attract investors into small towns and invest, then we have a problem. No town can rely on grants from the provincial government or treasury,” he said.
