This is a summary of the third of five cross-cutting themes outlined in the book Contested Karoo: Interdisciplinary perspectives on change and continuity in South Africa’s drylands, edited by Sherryl Walker and M. Timm Hoffman. For an introductory post summarising all five themes, click here. Posts on the remaining themes will follow soon.
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In a concluding chapter, Walker and Hoffman write that the small towns of the Karoo are important but under-resourced social and economic centres that are failing to benefit significantly from the changes in land use taking place around them.
Despite the strong rural connotations attached to the Karoo, most of its residents actually live in towns. Most of these are small, isolated settlements with a rich tradition of vernacular architecture and surrounded by extensive commonages that could support a variety of economic activities, from small-scale farming to the generation of renewable energy.
Weak economies and poor governance
However, this asset base is generally run down and poorly maintained, reflecting both weak local economies and weak local government.
The great distances between towns also mean that local municipalities in the Karoo are very large, which adds to their governance problems. Decision-making by politicians and bureaucrats is generally far removed from ordinary people who have very limited opportunities for feeding their views and aspirations into the public domain.
Poverty and unemployment
Poverty and unemployment are blighting daily life in small Karoo towns. Social grants and state-subsidised services, including RDP housing, are making a vital contribution to the basic survival of many households, which arguably binds them more tightly to these isolated settlements.
In some towns, fewer young adults are migrating to larger centres, perhaps because they are pessimistic about finding jobs. Some former migrants may be returning home in the hope of finding work at newer forms of economic activity, such as wind farms. However, current investments in astronomy, renewable energy and mining are not leading to a surge in work opportunities in their host towns. This points to a pervasive disjuncture between local hopes or expectations of jobs and ‘development’ on the one hand, and the priorities driving new land uses on the other.
Karoo Regional Spatial Development Framework
The Karoo Regional Spatial Development Framework proposes that larger towns should be seen as ‘regional development anchors’ and ‘regional service centres’, while identifying specific niches that the other, smaller towns can occupy, for instance as tourism destinations.
These are sound proposals on paper, but, given weak local governments as well as the political marginalisation of the region, they will be difficult to implement. Mechanisms must be found to strengthen local participation in the decision-making needed to take this agenda forward.
Legacy of apartheid / Social challenges
Contemporary Karoo towns are scarred by the divisions of the past, notably the enforced segregation and racialised hierarchies of the apartheid era, which still shape the ways in which physical and social spaces are organised. This helps to account for the social challenges undermining wellbeing and weighing down social services in these towns, including the disturbingly high levels of alcohol and substance abuse.
However, these ‘small enclaves’ have valuable attributes that residents appreciate, on which locally grounded development initiatives could build.
Conclusion
To conclude, the authors write: ‘Karoo dorps are important in terms of the social networks and informal support structures they provide family and community members, and the social identities and cultural institutions they sustain. Many residents value the unique sense of place the Karoo environment bestows on their home towns. They also value their intimate scale and hospitability, along with their relative safety compared to big cities such as Cape Town. The fractured but nevertheless rich cultural heritage of these settlements is another resource that not only deserves wider recognition but could be reinvigorated and repurposed.’
FEATURED IMAGE: Fraserburg, 2021. (Cherryl Walker)