Following numerous service delivery protests by the Umgudulu Informal Settlement residents in Reservoir Hills, eThekwini Mayor, Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda visited the disgruntled residents to listen to their concerns on Sunday, 30 May.
Resident, Sipho Dlamini said the municipality has been failing to provide them with basic essential services like electricity and operational toilets. “In 2021, we as the residents of Umgudulu have no electricity, and we are expected to use non-functional ablution facilities. This is not right, which is why, we take our frustrations to the streets and protest in order to get our voices heard by government officials who clearly do not care about our poor living conditions,” said Dlamini.
Cllr Kaunda announced that electricity will be reinstalled in the area and a contractor has been appointed to repair non-functional ablution facilities at the informal settelements. Mayor Kaunda also deployed a team of officials from various departments to work closely with the informal settlement committee to ensure that illegal dump sites are cleared. “The officials have also been tasked with ensuring that water leaks are fixed, and other challenges are addressed.Upon hearing the concerns raised by residents, as eThekwini Municipality we took a decision to intervene urgently on the two challenges which were the reinstallation of electricity and the non-functional ablution facilities. Our progress report has addressed these two critical challenges because we are a government that listens and puts the needs of the people first,” he said. Mayor Kaunda assured residents of the Municipality’s commitment to accelerate service delivery in the area. He also urged residents to use proper channels to communicate their grievances.
