Central South Africa is a region in crisis, of late OFM News has reported on many stories about our crippling local economy, here are some of the headlines: 

• Substation fire leaves Vaal residents in dark
• Hospitale, skole se dienste gesny om Matjhabeng se R1 mjd. te verhaal
• Pump failures, low storage strain Mangaung’s water supply
• Emfuleni municipality taken to court over years-long sewage pollution crisis

In an open letter addressed to the people of our beautiful Central South Africa entitled ‘I have seen enough’ Central Media Group CEO Nick Efstathiou calls for collaboration over competition.

To our listeners across the Free State, Northern Cape, North West, and the Vaal, I speak to you about a region we all share: Central South Africa, the heartbeat OFM broadcasts into every day. 

I want to address a reality we cannot ignore: economic malfunction, persistent service delivery failures, and the quiet erosion of opportunity that corrodes our communities.

Just pop onto ofm.co.za for the realities we broadcast in our radio news every day.

Water is a scarce, fragile lifeline in too many towns. Recurrent shortages, erratic pressure, and aging infrastructure leave households thirsty and businesses gasping for reliability. Sanitation lags behind, with aging sewerage systems overflowing or failing to meet basic health and dignity standards. The consequence is not mere discomfort; it is illness, lost workdays, and a stigma that hinders investment. When water and sanitation falter, every other aspiration withers alongside it.

Job creation remains a distant horizon for thousands who wake to unemployment or precarious livelihoods. Small and medium enterprises, the engines of local economies, face a wall of barriers: inconsistent electricity supply, as recently experienced in Bloemfontein with an explosion; delayed permit processes; and credit gaps. 

There are unrealistic economic policies, drafted without reflecting ground realities: the needs of traders, artisans, and commuters who keep towns alive. 

When policy ignores the daily grind, business closures mount, job losses accelerate, and success becomes elusive.

Infrastructure, the backbone of growth, is not being serviced with the urgency it deserves. Roads crumble, public buildings deteriorate, and maintenance budgets are swallowed by competing priorities. When infrastructure decays, transport costs rise, supply chains falter, and the cost of living increases for households already stretched thin. We see this pattern across Central South Africa: towns that once pulsed with commerce now linger as shadows of potential.

Too many public promises are unfulfilled. Projects stall, procurement processes grind to a halt, and communities wait for the investments that will unlock opportunity. This statement – “we are close” – concretes the reality: communities waiting for real, timely delivery. The result is a loss of trust in institutions that are meant to serve, not merely to symbolise power.

Closures of businesses, shops, workshops, factories, and informal hubs are not statistics; they are livelihoods torn away. Each shuttered door represents a family facing uncertainty, a pupil who cannot access school, an elder who loses a steady loaf of bread. 

When local economies shrink, crime and substance abuse often follow, and the social fabric frays further. The ripple effects are felt in every corner of our towns and cities, including those who tune into OFM, which binds us with shared stories and common challenges.

The politics of our time, underscored by competition rather than collaboration, undermines the very purpose of governance.

Political parties may crave power, but power without partnership fails the people it claims to serve. Political will is channelled into battles, where policy is negotiated as a weapon, not a bridge to serve and better our country.

While parties strive to designate the country through ideological victories, the people endure the consequences: delayed services, stalled projects, and a sense that the state exists to win rather than to work. 

We deserve leaders who translate debate into results, and who recognise that real progress demands broad coalitions, practical compromises, and a relentless focus on the common good.

How can Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) help to fix these problems? 

PPPs offer a framework for shared risk and shared rewards, where the government sets the policy and regulatory environment, and private partners bring efficiency, capital, and innovation. 

In water and sanitation, PPPs can fund and operate treatment plants, pipelines, and distribution networks with performance-based contracts that reward reliability and quality. 

In the realm of electricity and infrastructure, private partners can accelerate the maintenance and upgrading of roads and public facilities, provided there are clear performance criteria, robust oversight, and transparent procurement.

But PPPs are not a silver bullet. They require strong governance, transparent tendering, and accountable oversight to ensure public interests outweigh private profit. 

They demand realistic, evidence-based planning that aligns with local needs: community engagement, inclusive procurement, and local empowerment – training local workers, sourcing materials locally where feasible, and embedding social development goals within project designs. 

For PPPs to work in Central South Africa, we must build capable institutions, maintain credit and investment-grade regulatory environments, and insist on robust monitoring and evaluation.

Collaboration is essential. The battles that divide us must yield to the common cause of service delivery and employment. 

Political parties should not treat Central South African well-being as a battlefield to showcase political prowess. Commit to shared, tangible outcomes: a plan that aligns strategies, municipal budgets, and private investment with real, measurable results. 

Cross-party collaboration keeps neighbourhoods at the heart of policy, one that avoids grandstanding and embraces practical partnerships with civil society, labour unions, business associations, and the communities themselves.

Central South Africa demands action in four concrete areas:

• Water and sanitation.
• Job creation and business resilience.
• Infrastructure maintenance.
• Realistic, locally informed policy that builds community bank balances, not those in power.

What is the cost of inaction? The answer is clear: continued decline in living standards, more unemployment, greater inequality, and a larger burden on social services. Our region deserves leadership that couples ambition with accountability, that links policy to people’s daily lives, and that prioritises service delivery.

Central South Africa, stand up, choose partnership over paralysis, and action over rhetoric. The people – our families, workers, students, and elders – deserve nothing less.