Home Affairs

In the Underberg village of Hillman, population 237, something has disturbed the peace. Situated 199½km from Durban (the extra ½km being of critical importance when you wish to distance yourself from city folk), Hillman is having an identity crisis. A debate is raging about whether or not to change the name of the town in line with current political trends. The mayor, surmising that the position of authority he has held since 1982 could be in jeopardy from one Ephraim “Oubaas” Mthethwa, decides to embrace the debate and campaigns to change Hillman’s name to ‘Dingaan Berg’ in order to win votes on both sides of the fence. Mthethwa wants to change the name to Dingiswayo, stating correctly that Dingaan never actually visited Hillman at any point in history. Embroiled in a hotbed of infighting and political one-upmanship, the town becomes a dorp divided. When a rumour goes round that wealthy developers are coming to Hillman to build a Sun City-style resort on the mountain, the town is thrown into chaos. Newspaper reporters from as far as Pietermaritzburg and Estcourt descend en masse, and the townsfolk of Hillman have to choose between progress and prosperity or self-preservation.