Almost two years after the state stepped in to calm a volatile situation at the North West tourism hub, operators on the ground say they have been left exposed, with no protection, no rebuilt businesses and no leases.
The multi-stakeholder steering committee that Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo and North West Premier Lazarus Mokgosi launched in late 2024 was presented as the fix for the dam’s deepening crisis.
Operators say it has failed.
In Schoemansville and Kosmos, entrepreneurs say intimidation has continued, arsonists have not been arrested, and black occupation of state-owned land remains informal and insecure.
Thabiso Mathibedi, whose Bubbles restaurant was gutted by fire, said conditions deteriorated after the state became involved.
“I knew those people were just talk shops. It’s sad that the government would react after the media has written,” Mathibedi told Africa Daily on Friday.
“They promised to help us rebuild my restaurant however. It was not done. The people who burnt my restaurant are still at large. I have nothing to say.”
His restaurant was one of two black-owned properties burnt within a month in 2024, when racial tensions at Harties hit boiling point.
The area was for decades an enclave dominated by white and Afrikaans-speaking property owners. In recent years, a new generation of black entrepreneurs has entered the economy around the dam. That change has intensified competition and pushed business rivalries into open racial confrontation.
Mathibedi said the hostility began on day one.
Members of the local white community took him to court when he started building Bubbles, he said.
“When I started this business and building the now burnt Bubbles, I was taken to court by the white racist community because they didn’t want me to have a business there just for the fact that I was black,” he said.
Advocate Hartley Ngoato, owner of Legacy on the Dam, described the situation as going “to the dogs.”
Ngoato claimed the dam was being polluted after sewage infrastructure was sabotaged, an allegation he attributed to white residents. Africa Daily could not independently verify the claim.
His resort has been at the centre of complaints for years.
The Kosmos Village Association and residents of Caribbean Beach Club have lodged petitions with the Department of Water and Sanitation, accusing Legacy on the Dam at 151A Simon Bekker Street, Kosmos, of causing “persistent disturbances” through loud music and parties.
Attempts to obtain comment from the association this week were unsuccessful.
Resolving exactly these kinds of disputes was meant to be the core work of the 2024 steering committee.
Co-chaired by the department and the provincial government, the structure includes the North West House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, Madibeng Local Municipality, civic organisations, non-profits, business, environmental groups and religious formations.
It was given three tasks: to unlock economic opportunities, to restore the health of the dam, and to mediate disputes between operators on state land.
Mahlobo at the time promised collaboration and transparency, underpinned by a new comprehensive lease policy.
“As the steering committee begins its work, stakeholders and communities can look forward to positive transformations in the Hartbeespoort Dam area,” he said in 2024.
He said the policy would close historical gaps and ensure transparency in how state land is allocated.
Mokgosi similarly committed the province to supporting local development.
But on the ground, leases remain the sticking point.
One businessman said white operators had occupied government land for 40 to 50 years without paying rent, while black applicants who were given permission to occupy land two years ago on condition that final leases would follow, were still waiting.
“Ever since that happened two years ago the department has not given us leases to finalise our occupation of the land,” he said.
Without leases, owners say they cannot secure bank finance, insurance or municipal approvals. They cannot rebuild after attacks, and they live under constant threat of eviction.
The Department of Water and Sanitation had not responded to enquiries about the lease policy at the time of publication.
