[Image: Explore Knysna / Facebook]
Knysna, once one of the Garden Route’s shining stars, is starting to show real signs of strain.
A recent article in Moneyweb really laid bare how, while the DA-led George and Plettenberg Bay are booming, Knysna’s roads are falling apart, basic services are inconsistent, and the town is struggling to keep up.
Driving through Knysna, it’s hard not to notice the potholes, even on the N2. Water pipes keep bursting, and while they’re patched up, the roads often aren’t. “Water infrastructure upgrades” are the official excuse, but most locals aren’t convinced. Refuse removal is hit-or-miss, and the town centre feels neglected and grimy.
Even one of the town’s key roads, George Rex Drive, is literally breaking off into the estuary.
It’s a familiar tale, though, and Knysna’s problems follow a pattern seen in towns across South Africa. With fewer people paying rates, more people needing services, crumbling infrastructure and not enough investment to keep things running, the decay is inevitable.
But there’s still plenty of wealth in Knysna, and you’ll still see plenty of luxury cars weaving between potholes. But that wealth won’t stick around forever, especially when nearby towns are offering cleaner streets and better services.
As with most ANC-led councils, the town’s spending priorities raise questions. Knysna perfectly illustrates the problem across all spheres of government currently, where wages eat up more and more of the budget and tax and ratepayers get less and less for each rand …
Of Knysna’s R1.2 billion budget for next year, nearly a third (R365 million) is going to salaries. The capital budget is just R160 million, and only R500,000 of that is earmarked for urgent repairs to George Rex Drive. A proper fix is expected to cost over R23 million over the next three years.
Meanwhile, refuse collection is being handled by outside contractors, as is often the case in ANC-run municipalities. Still, there are signs the private sector hasn’t given up on the town. A new Food Lovers Market just opened on the waterfront, and a new Checkers FreshX is apparently also coming soon, along with several new car dealerships that have popped up nearby.
Despite the tragedy of poor leadership and maladministration, Knysna isn’t beyond saving.
It’s still bigger than Plettenberg Bay, and there’s still investment trickling in, so with local elections coming up in 2026, there’s a sliver of hope that things could turn around – if there’s political will to match the town’s potential.
For now, though, Knysna feels stuck.
[Source: Moneyweb]
