Energy

The small South African municipality where a private family fixed the problems and built its own power plant

Kirsten Minnaar • 4 June 2026

While municipalities across South Africa struggle with crumbling infrastructure, rolling service delivery failures and mounting debt, one small Free State municipality has taken a dramatically different path.

The Mafube Local Municipality in the Free State includes the towns of Frankfort, Villiers, Tweeling and Cornelia.

Here, a private family business has spent more than a decade rebuilding the electricity network, collecting revenue, investing in infrastructure and, more recently, developing its own power generation capacity.

The result is a model that supporters say could provide a blueprint for fixing municipalities across South Africa.

The story recently gained national attention after businessman Rob Hersov wrote an article spotlighting Mafube as an example of what can be achieved when communities, businesses and residents work together to address municipal collapse.

“They have a template for fixing South Africa municipality by municipality, bottom up,” Hersov said in a BizNews interview.

“But more than just a template, they’ve actually done it. They’re actually paying money. They’re collecting tax. They’re fixing things. They’ve set up their own power. They distribute their own power. They bill for their own power.”

The roots of the project stretch back more than 30 years. According to political analyst JP Landman, the Bosch family first built its expertise while working on Eskom’s mass electrification programme in the early 1990s.

The family developed a reputation for turning around loss-making electricity distribution operations by combining effective maintenance with strong community engagement.

After later expanding into electricity management for major corporate clients, the family invested in the Free State through Rural Maintenance Free State (RMFS).

In 2012, RMFS entered into a long-term agreement with Mafube Municipality to manage electricity distribution across the municipality. At the time, the municipality was struggling financially and operationally.

From electricity losses to one of South Africa’s best collection rates

Landman noted that Mafube was paying Eskom roughly R5 million a month while generating only around R1.7 million in electricity revenue.

Infrastructure maintenance had largely stopped, billing systems were dysfunctional, and electricity theft was widespread. RMFS invested heavily in rebuilding the system.

According to Hersov, the company effectively assumed responsibility for maintaining the grid, upgrading infrastructure, billing customers and collecting revenue.

“They put up the money on a 25-year contract. They got a 25-year contract from the municipality to rebuild the grid, bill customers, collect the money, keep a certain amount for maintenance and profit, and refund the rest to Eskom,” he explained.

The investment was substantial. Landman previously reported that around R100 million had been invested into infrastructure upgrades, staff training and technology systems.

More recent figures shared by RMFS show that between February 2012 and January 2025, R131 million was spent on infrastructure upgrades alone.

Over the same period, the municipality paid R1.13 billion to Eskom, while more than R30 million in royalties was paid back to the municipality.

Electricity network capacity increased from 12.3 MVA to 21.1 MVA, while vending stations expanded from four to more than 20, including online platforms.

One of the most striking aspects of the project has been its collection rate. As of 2023, Landman said only 65 customers out of approximately 12,000 electricity users were disconnected for non-payment over a 12-year period.

Hersov said the default rate currently stands at roughly 2%. “What that tells you is there is money and people are prepared to pay if they get the services. This is one of the crucial messages that’s come out of Mafube.”

The approach relied heavily on community buy-in. Landman explained that the Bosch family built relationships with local leaders, including church leaders, community organisers, taxi operators and business owners.

The focus was not on politics but on ensuring residents received reliable service. “If people receive effective services and are treated decently, they pay for the service,” Landman wrote.

The improved electricity supply has also had wider economic benefits, with reduced outages and improved reliability encouraging business expansion in the area, including a major agricultural cooperative that created more than 100 jobs.

Property prices have increased, and local businesses have become more confident about investing in the municipality.

Mafube moves into power generation

The project has since expanded beyond electricity distribution. Having stabilised the network, RMFS has moved into electricity generation.

Hersov said the company has already developed an 8.9 MW solar facility and is pursuing additional generation projects to provide more reliable power.

“What they’ve done then is vertically integrate into power production,” he said. “They got the rights and have set up an 8.9-megawatt solar operation.”

The initiative has helped reduce the municipality’s exposure to load-shedding and created a platform for further energy investments.

Landman previously noted that solar generation had already reduced load-shedding in the area by approximately 17% compared to Eskom’s requirements. Plans for additional generation projects are also under consideration.

Supporters argue that the electricity project forms part of a much larger effort to revive the Mafube district.

Over recent years, local businesses, farmers, community organisations and residents have organised through groups such as the Mafube Business Forum and Mafube First to address broader governance and service delivery failures.

The community has used court action, funding initiatives and public-private cooperation to tackle issues ranging from sewage treatment and roads to municipal finances.

One notable initiative saw farmers voluntarily contribute a R18-per-hectare levy to support local services, raising approximately R7 million annually with around 90% participation.

Hersov believes the municipality demonstrates that local communities do not need to wait for national government intervention before taking action.

“What drove them was the collapse of their municipality and the resilience that said, ‘We are not going to let our towns and our municipality fall apart. We are going to do something about it.’”