Musina residents united in formally establishing their own ratepayers association to tackle burning issues of deteriorating services and infrastructure, as well as alarmingly widespread complaints of corruption involving officials from the municipality and several state departments, such as the SAPS.

At the second meeting after its establishment, the Musina Ratepayers Association (MRPA) listed its main focus areas. These include the situation of roads, the lack of transparency in various dubious transfers of state property, health and environmental problems, the seemingly total collapse in the enforcement of municipal by-laws, as well as chaos with regard to traffic control in the town.

A spokesperson for the newly formed MRPA, Mr Jason Rana, said this week that residents at the meetings found it totally unacceptable that a town which could once received national accolades as the neatest and most attractive in South Africa, had deteriorated into its present state.