SWELLENDAM MUNICIPALITY has defended its approach to Barrydale’s streetlights, road maintenance and community consultation, saying its infrastructure decisions are guided by national standards, available funding, master plans and public input through established municipal processes.
The municipality responded to a series of questions from News62 regarding concerns raised by residents about the town’s new streetlighting, deteriorating roads and what some residents describe as a lack of consultation on infrastructure decisions.
The responses were provided by Riaan De Ridder, Director: Infrastructure and Planning Services.
White streetlights part of energy-efficiency project
According to De Ridder, the replacement of Barrydale’s former amber-coloured streetlights with brighter white LED fittings formed part of the municipality’s Energy Efficiency Demand Side Management grant project.
The objective, he said, is to reduce electricity costs by replacing older lighting technology with more energy-efficient LED fittings.
The municipality says the project was driven by provincial and national efforts to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency.
Importantly, the municipality confirmed that no consultation with Barrydale residents, ratepayers or ward structures was undertaken specifically before the replacement of the lights.
De Ridder said consultation was not considered necessary because the work constituted an operational replacement of existing infrastructure with more energy-efficient fittings.
The municipality referred to SANS 10098, the National Energy Efficiency Strategy, the National Environmental Management Act and the Electricity Regulation Act as part of the regulatory and standards framework governing the project.
Asked why areas of Cape Town and elsewhere continue to use older amber-coloured lighting if the change is the result of a national mandate, the municipality said it could not answer on behalf of the City of Cape Town.
It added that the move towards energy-efficient lighting was taking place more broadly, including in Cape Town, and said Swellendam Municipality was fortunate to receive grant funding that allowed it to cover the entire municipality, including a number of sports grounds.
Independent studies conducted
De Ridder said independent studies were undertaken as part of the project’s business plan to determine appropriate fitting sizes, as well as to ensure compliance with the applicable legislation and standards.
Asked whether warmer-coloured and less intrusive LED alternatives had been considered, the municipality said the fittings installed were standard streetlights from leading manufacturers. The lights were procured through a procurement process based on specifications drafted with the relevant standards and legislation in mind.
Barrydale formed part of Phase 3 of the project, which was funded through the national Energy Efficiency Demand Side Management grant.
Regarding complaints about excessive brightness or intrusive lighting, the municipality said these would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis to ensure installations comply with SANS 10098 and other applicable regulations.
R2 million allocated to Barrydale roads
The municipality’s response also provides some insight into the state of Barrydale’s roads and the funding currently available for maintenance.
For the 2026/2027 financial year, R2 million has been allocated for road-related expenditure in Barrydale.
A further R2.7 million grant from the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure has been received for the subsidised portion of the R62 through Barrydale.
The municipality says slurry works are currently underway in Barrydale, while resealing work is expected to begin within the next two months.
The shared section of the R62 is also scheduled for resealing during the current calendar year, with 80% of the work funded through a provincial roads grant and 20% from municipal funding.
Localised road repairs will continue during the remainder of the year.
Municipality acknowledges major roads backlog
One of the more significant figures contained in the municipality’s response is its estimate of the overall roads maintenance backlog.
De Ridder said the municipality had a roads maintenance backlog estimated at R120 million in 2019.
He said spending on roads maintenance had been increased significantly over the past five years in an effort to prevent the backlog from growing further.
The municipality also acknowledged that dedicated funding for repairs to existing surfaced roads in Barrydale had only been allocated during the past three years.
“Prior to this, the budget was restricted and the priorities were allocated to other services,” De Ridder said.
He pointed to approximately R20 million spent on upgrading gravel roads in Smitsville as an example of previous road-related expenditure.
Asked why road maintenance had apparently not kept pace with increased rates and ratepayer numbers, the municipality said costs had also increased and, in many cases, had exceeded the increase in rates and taxes.
Municipality unable to immediately provide three years of complaint figures
News62 also asked how many road-maintenance complaints relating specifically to Barrydale had been received and resolved over the past three financial years.
The municipality did not provide a figure.
De Ridder said it would be difficult to assess the exact number immediately because all mechanisms used to receive complaints over the three-year period would have to be investigated.
The municipality says it currently uses the Collaborator application across the entire municipal area for residents to submit and report complaints.
It also says road repairs are identified through visual inspections by municipal staff, prioritisation from master plans and information received from residents.
Municipality rejects suggestion that residents’ reporting system filled a gap
Questions were also raised about a privately created website allowing residents to report damaged roads.
The municipality said its own Collaborator application had already been in place “long before the private initiative”.
According to De Ridder, the Barrydale town manager, in consultation with the Roads and Stormwater manager, normally conducts periodic inspections.
A Roads Asset Maintenance Management System, funded by the provincial government, also conducts higher-level audits across the Overberg municipalities.
Public complaints form part of municipal planning
The municipality rejected the suggestion that residents should have to publicly raise problems before action is taken.
De Ridder said the administration conducts inspections of municipal infrastructure and combines this information with master plans, feedback from the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process and information supplied by the public when compiling annual maintenance programmes and replacement projects.
“Feedback from the public is a vital contribution in assessing infrastructure repair priorities,” he said.
Municipality says IDP provides opportunity for consultation
On the broader question of consultation, the municipality said the IDP process provides residents throughout the municipality with an opportunity to raise their municipal service needs.
Barrydale, it said, is not excluded from these processes.
The municipality added that ad hoc community participation processes are followed where legislation requires such participation, while other municipal operations are dealt with according to the various laws governing local government.
Asked whether the Municipal Manager and Executive Mayor would commit to meaningful consultation with Barrydale residents before similar infrastructure changes are implemented in future, the municipality referred back to its previous answer.
It said written requests could also be addressed to the Municipal Manager and Executive Mayor for consideration.
Questions remain
The municipality’s responses clarify the funding and regulatory basis for the streetlight replacement and provide details of planned road works.
They also confirm that the streetlight replacement was treated as an operational infrastructure project and did not involve specific consultation with Barrydale residents before implementation.
At the same time, the municipality says public feedback remains an important component of determining infrastructure priorities.
For Barrydale residents concerned about the town’s roads, the immediate focus will now likely be on whether the planned slurry and reseal works, together with localised repairs, will translate into visible improvements on the ground.
The municipality has also acknowledged that the wider Swellendam municipal area continues to carry a substantial roads maintenance backlog, estimated at R120 million in 2019.
News62 will continue to follow the implementation of the planned road works and residents’ concerns regarding the new streetlighting.
