South Africa

Popular South African tourist town falling apart in plain sight

Kirsten Minnaar • 20 May 2026

Dullstroom, one of South Africa’s most popular small tourist towns, is facing mounting infrastructure and service delivery failures that residents warn could threaten the town’s future.

The Mpumalanga town is known for its fly-fishing industry and popularity among tourists travelling to the Kruger National Park.

However, it has seen growing frustration over deteriorating roads, unreliable water supply, sewage pollution, and inconsistent waste removal.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Dullstroom residents explained that basic municipal services have deteriorated sharply in recent years despite the town’s importance to the regional tourism economy.

Road infrastructure is among the biggest concerns. Many residential roads are in severe disrepair, with residents and private organisations often stepping in to carry out maintenance work themselves.

Local organisations such as Drive Dullstroom’s Destiny (DDD), an organisation funded by community members to ensure that Dullstroom “remains clean and tourist-friendly”, have attempted to maintain roads in the area.

However, residents have cautioned that these interventions are not sustainable without municipal support.

Farmers in the surrounding area have also criticised the municipality. They argued that they continue paying high rates and taxes while privately funding road maintenance and other basic infrastructure.

Water supply problems have become another major issue. Residents connected to the municipal reticulation system report frequent outages and poor water quality.

Sipho Mthethwa, a Sakhelwe resident who works at a local fly-fishing shop, told GroundUp that water outages often begin around midday and continue until late afternoon.

He added that he stopped drinking tap water after experiencing health problems and now relies on borehole water.

GroundUp also reported experiencing severe water disruptions while staying in nearby Emgwenya in early 2026, including days without water supply, extremely low pressure, and muddy, discoloured water.

Residents step in as municipal infrastructure continues to deteriorate

According to the cumulative 2025 results from the Department of Water and Sanitation, only the Belfast treatment works met acceptable water treatment standards.

Dullstroom, Emgwenya, and Entokozweni treatment works failed several quality indicators, while monitoring levels remained critically low.

The Department of Water and Sanitation placed the municipality under regulatory surveillance in 2023 and required corrective action plans to address failures in its water infrastructure. Upgrades to some treatment facilities are underway.

Wastewater management appears to be under even greater strain. The municipality’s four wastewater treatment plants have a combined designed treatment capacity of 9,400 kilolitres of sewage per day.

However, reports indicate that only a fraction of sewage is reaching treatment facilities. This has raised concerns that large volumes of untreated sewage may be leaking into streets, wetlands, streams, and rivers.

Residents also claim that they have repeatedly had to step in where municipal systems failed, without receiving any acknowledgement.

During a severe drought in 2025, community members reportedly raised around R1.7 million within weeks to fund a potable water project and construct a secondary pump station to prevent the town from running out of water.

Waste removal has also become inconsistent, with Dullstroom and Belfast reportedly sharing a single refuse truck.

According to locals, these delays in waste collection have contributed to illegal dumping in parts of the town. The municipality has acknowledged that it is financially constrained.

Officials have argued that some roads fall under the jurisdiction of other entities and that heavy mining trucks have significantly contributed to road damage in the area.

Municipal officials have also said efforts are underway to improve water infrastructure and stabilise supply.

However, residents warn that unless basic services improve, Dullstroom risks losing the very qualities that made it one of South Africa’s most popular small-town tourism destinations.