Cederberg municipality struggles to keep up with growing informal settlements

by | Mar 26, 2026

Cederberg Local Municipality, Clanwilliam informal settlements, Citrusdal Riverview, Sandkamp Khayelitsha, service delivery crisis, Western Cape housing backlog, informal housing South Africa, municipal infrastructure challenges, water sanitation issues, waste management problems, Olifants River flooding, UISP housing projects, rural municipalities South Africa, basic services shortage, community development Western Cape
Cederberg Municipality struggles to deliver basic services as informal settlements expand rapidly in Clanwilliam and Citrusdal.

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Images from a Groud Up report

The Cederberg Local Municipality, covering Clanwilliam and Citrusdal, is struggling to provide basic services to rapidly expanding informal settlements. Key areas include Khayelitsha/Sandkamp in Clanwilliam and Riverview in Citrusdal, home to 4,725 residents.

A 2023 Western Cape survey found that 18% of the municipality’s population lives in informal dwellings with limited access to rubbish collection, reliable water, and sanitation. In Riverview, communal water points are often dry or leaking, illegal water connections are common, portable toilets are serviced infrequently, and waste is frequently burnt due to limited truck access. Greywater often flows into nearby wetlands, and homes remain vulnerable to floods, as seen during the 2023/2024 Olifants River evacuations.

The municipality faces a housing backlog of 6,355 households out of a total of 11,953. Some progress has been made: 240 toilets and skips were installed in Khayelitsha in 2023, the Clanwilliam Wastewater Treatment Works is set for an R80-million upgrade by 2025, and funding from the Urban Integrated Settlement Programme (UISP) will provide around 1,000 Riverview houses (planning phase to March 2028) and 1,300 in Clanwilliam.

Municipal officials cite resource shortages as the main challenge in managing “uncontrolled” settlement growth, though weekly rubbish collection reportedly continues in some areas.

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