South African town which had 5,500 potholes transformed into a movie hub

Senekal in the Free State province has seen a major turnaround as residents have taken it upon themselves to rejuvenate the crumbling town.

The turnaround has been so significant that Frans Cronje, a filmmaker from Cape Town and brother of former cricketer Hansie Cronje, plans to transform the rural town into a filming hub. 

The poor state of small towns in the Free State has been a concern for many years, with infrastructure collapse becoming a defining feature of the province’s rural municipalities. 

Roads are crumbling, water and sanitation systems are failing, and many towns face persistent power disruptions. 

Years of poor governance, mismanagement, and political instability are at the heart of this decay.

For the last two years, the Auditor-General (AG) of South Africa has highlighted widespread governance failures in Free State municipalities. 

According to the AG reports, not a single municipality in the province has received a clean audit for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. 

Setsoto Municipality, which governs Senekal, was among those flagged, with an unqualified audit with findings. 

An “unqualified audit with findings” indicates that the auditor believes a company’s financial statements are fairly presented and compliant with accounting standards.

However, it also means the audit identified specific areas needing improvement or potential issues, such as service delviery performance and compliance with legislation.

Similar, if not worse, patterns emerge across the province. The situation is dire in Harrismith, part of the Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality. 

It was reported that years of mismanagement have led to residents living amid raw sewage and uncollected refuse. In 2024, the Harrismith, Intabazwe, and Tshiame Residents Association (HIT) sued the municipality.

This resulted in court orders mandating the repair and maintenance of sewage systems and the restoration of electricity services.

The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, encompassing Bloemfontein, is under administration due to significant service delivery challenges.

A lack of competent leadership compounds these issues, an issue highlighted in a recent survey by the Democratic Alliance (DA).

It revealed that four of the 19 local municipalities in the Free State are under administration, and numerous officials are either acting, suspended, or under investigation for corruption and maladministration.

The Free State provincial government has acknowledged the crisis but blames historical backlogs and budget constraints. 

However, critics argue that the core issues are endemic corruption and a lack of accountability. 

With municipal structures in disarray, small towns like Senekal are increasingly reliant on community action and private intervention to restore some semblance of service delivery.

A notable example of this has been the significant turnaround of Senekal, where a community forum and a filmmaker from Cape Town have worked to revitalise the small Free State town.

Residents coming together to rebuild Senekal

Having grown up in the province, Filmmaker Frans Cronje told BizNews that he returned in 2020 after years in professional cricket and film production. 

He was driven to uplift rural communities and establish a new creative hub away from South Africa’s typical urban film centres. 

“Cape Town is a well-known destination for shooting films. But I felt the urge to take my next movie to the rural areas and not just shoot a film, but build something lasting that could rejuvenate the local economy,” he said. 

His return to the Free State coincided with a series of traumatic and transformative events. His father was diagnosed with terminal cancer in Bloemfontein, which meant frequent visits to the region. 

On these trips, Cronje witnessed the visible decay of small towns, which he attributes to years of failed governance under the provincial administration. 

Around the same time, the murder of young farmer Brendin Horner outside Paul Roux sparked deep social tensions in Senekal, culminating in confrontations between angry farmers and EFF supporters. 

In this tense atmosphere, a remarkable initiative emerged. A local pastor, John Mathuhle, reached out across racial lines to bring people together. 

“He brought the community together to pray and talk. Instead of violence, there was peace.” From that spirit of reconciliation, the Senekal/Mtwabeng Community Forum was born to rebuild the town. 

Hearing of the initiative, Cronje made the town his home. Over the last four years, Cronje and the Forum have embarked on a mission to restore Senekal’s functionality, starting with basic infrastructure. 

“In the first year, we fixed over 5,500 potholes,” he said, explaining that their approach has been bottom-up: clean streets, fix minor things, and build pride. 

“We held clean-up days—we called them clown town cleanups—where farmers and township residents worked together. One day we removed over 20 tons of rubble from Mtwabeng,” he said.

Despite their progress, not everyone embraced the effort. “Interestingly, it was received extremely well across South Africa—but less so in Senekal itself,” said Cronje. 

He said distrust came from all sides. “Some ANC members suspected political motives, while some white conservatives bristled at his multiracial collaboration.”

“There’s still a group who’d rather see the country collapse than work together, which is tragic.” But even with these divisions, the results are visible. The town is much better than it was four years ago. 

“The downward spiral has turned. Every month, Senekal and the surrounding areas are getting better,” Cronje added. 

Dream of turning the town into a film hub 

While community work continues, Cronje has gradually shifted focus toward his passion project: transforming Senekal into a filmmaking hub. 

Considering this, he and his partners recently purchased the abandoned Sasko mill and silos, which had been vacant for 25 years, and split the property into two. 

“My friends set up a sunflower oil press on one side—already making a wonderful impact on the town, such as the jobs it has created,” explained Cronje 

“As for the other side of the property, I’m converting the land into a 10,000-square-metre film studio, called New Road Studios.”

This dream studio will be home to his next major project: a historical epic set in the Roman Empire, telling the story of the last-ever gladiator fight in the Coliseum. 

“It’s a big budget film, and if we can shoot it in a small Free State town, we’ll create jobs, build skills, and put Senekal on the map.”

Cronje is currently securing funding for the studio and the film, but remains optimistic. “We’ve proven that even with limited unity, progress is possible. Small towns across South Africa can rise again if more people take hands.”

Photos of the revitalisation project in Senekal