Luncheon address to the Public Service Commission, Orania, 20 May 2026

Ladies and gentlemen; friends. Thank you for the opportunity to address you today on a subject at the heart of effective governance: Local government, service delivery and community empowerment – where to start and where to stop.

Orania is a small but intentional community. We have chosen a path of self-determination rooted in Afrikaner culture, hard work, personal responsibility, and voluntary cooperation. Our experience offers a practical model for local government that stays firmly in its lane.

Where to start: core functions and bulk services

Local government must begin with its essential mandate. We do not see the state as the father of the people who must provide from cradle to grave. Our task at Orania Dorpsraad is modest yet vital: to create a level playing field so that individuals, families, businesses and the community can pursue their own happiness and take care of themselves.

In Orania, this starts with proper land use systems, excellence in bulk municipal services and well-maintained infrastructure. Orderly development, reliable water supply, electricity and sewage treatment form the foundation of what local government does. Without these, nothing else functions. We invest continuously in roads and stormwater systems because poor infrastructure undermines every other effort. Safe, clean, well maintained, functional parks and public spaces strengthen community bonds. Protection of life and private property, good corporate governance and sound financial management ensure stability and investor confidence.

These are not optional extras – they are non-negotiable core functions. When infrastructure is well maintained, businesses thrive, families plan their futures with certainty, and residents focus their energy on building, not complaining. In Orania, our residents pay their rates and we deliver the services. This creates a virtuous cycle of accountability and results.

Where to stop: the limits of government

Equally important is knowing where to stop. Government is only one institution amongst many in a healthy society. We must not crowd out voluntary associations that help build caring communities: churches, cultural associations, sports clubs, the chamber of commerce, non-profit health and non-profit social services, and countless private initiatives.

In Orania we deliberately keep local government’s scope limited to:

• Planning and land use
• Infrastructure for water, electricity, sewage, and telecoms
• Roads and stormwater
• Parks and public spaces
• Recognition and protection of private property
• Maintaining public order and security services
• Dispute resolution
• Communication and engagement with the community and stake holders
• Sound financial management and good corporate governance

We do not run people’s lives. We do not try to manufacture happiness. We do not crowd out the family, the church, business or the market. By staying in our lane, we empower other institutions to flourish. The result is a community where citizens take ownership rather than waiting for the state to solve every problem.

This approach reflects Orania’s deeper values of self-reliance, neighbourly cooperation, cultural preservation, and respect for human dignity through responsibility rather than dependency. We believe a people who govern themselves locally with discipline and restraint build stronger character and more resilient institutions than those who look to distant bureaucracies for salvation.

Practical lessons for service delivery and empowerment

True community empowerment flows from this clarity. When local government delivers reliable services and maintains infrastructure, citizens are freed to innovate, create wealth, and care for one another. When government oversteps, it breeds dependency, inefficiency, and resentment.

South Africa faces serious challenges with service delivery. Ideology has expanded government ambitions far beyond its capacity, resulting in failing infrastructure, municipal financial collapse, and disillusioned citizens. The remedy is not more government, but less and better government – disciplined, focused, and accountable.

Orania demonstrates that even a small local authority can achieve high standards by sticking to core functions. Our roads are maintained, our water is clean, our finances are healthy, and our community is engaged. We do this without access to the national fiscus, but simply by knowing where to start and where to stop.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, friends, local government works best when it is humble about its role. It should provide the essential framework – infrastructure, order, and basic services – and then step back so that free citizens, families, businesses and voluntary organisations can pursue their own flourishing.

Government is not the great provider. It is a necessary but limited institution that must stay in its lane. In Orania we have chosen this path consciously. The results speak for themselves: a functioning town, a thankful community, and citizens who take responsibility for their own lives.

We must recognise Jesus Christ as King and Lord over the people of South Africa and work with the following reality: government is but one servant with a very particular role and narrow mandate in His Kingdom.

I invite you to consider this model as you reflect on public service in our country. Start with excellence in the basics. Stop before you crowd out the very people you claim to serve. Deliver reliable bulk services and well-maintained infrastructure. Empower communities by trusting them to build the rest.