R13.76 million outstanding debt in a small South African town with one property vacant and neglected for 29 years

The Setsoto Local Municipality has 578 accounts with R13.76 million outstanding, a growing problem in this rural community.

The issue came to light after Councillor Riëtte Dell asked for details about a neglected plot in Ficksburg, the municipality’s main town.

This opened a can of worms and exposed long-standing municipal debt on vacant and neglected properties.

According to residents living in the area, this particular plot has stood vacant and neglected for more than 29 years.

However, the municipality said the account was handed over only for formal debt collection in April 2025, when approximately R21,900 was outstanding.

By August 2026, the debt had grown to R36 605, and the matter is only now progressing to the Letter of Demand stage.

By then, a problem that had affected the neighbourhood for decades had already become both a financial and service-delivery burden.

The consequences are not only financial. Neglected erven become overgrown, attract illegal dumping and rodents, and create health and safety concerns,” Dell said.

In this case, Community Services must use municipal resources to clean the site, while Environmental Health Practitioners must investigate the reported rodent problem.

She said that this was not an isolated problem and that further details emerged, which were concerning.

“The municipality identified 578 accounts with approximately R13.76 million outstanding, while more than R5 million has been written off over five years,” she said.

This angered many people, as aggressive revenue-collection measures are enforced against residents who remain active municipal customers.

However, the same urgency was not applied to long-standing debt linked to vacant and abandoned properties.

Dellk explained that where owners cannot be traced, and debt continues to accumulate, the municipality must pursue the legal debt-recovery process.

Where legally appropriate, it should pursue sale in execution to recover outstanding debt and return neglected properties to productive use.

“Setsoto has confirmed that it has never used sale in execution of immovable property to recover municipal debt, and no properties are currently at that stage,” she said.

“We will hold the municipal manager accountable because Setsoto cannot afford another 29 years of inaction.”