By Nkosenhle Sibisi
Crippled service delivery in Overport continues to cause uproar in the community as residents claim that eThekwini Municipality is failing to attend to their grievances. Burst pipes, sewer spillages, spoils on the side of the roads, dug up holes left unattended are some of the issues raised by residents.
A resident who did not want to be named said, he lives on the corner of Harbottle Road and Centre Street and they have had to endure an unbearable stench for two months, as a result of a hole dug up by the municipality.
“I have lived in this area for 25 years. It is not fair on us residents to be experiencing such issues even though they have been reported to the city numerous times. Municipal workers came and dug the hole and said they were fixing underground pipe. Since July 10, the hole has been left open. Another vehicle came back after we reported the issue, they did nothing. They just took photos and promised to come back. The water has turned green and the smell is unbearable. We have children playing on this road and this is a health hazard,” said the resident.
Lucky Buthelezi, owner of a business on the corner of Harbottle Road and Centre Street said that they have reported the issue and were given a reference number but still, the city has not fixed it.
“I can’t drive on this road now and I have to use an alternative route. I have had no choice but switch on the fan in my shop now because the stench comes directly to my business. As a result of this hole, there has been an influx of mosquitoes and I have to burn mosquito coil everyday. The city is aware of this issue because it has been reported so many times,” said Buthelezi.
On Norse Road, not far from the mosquito-infested Harbottle Road, lies the spoils which residents claim has been there for over a month now. Residents said that the spoils on the pavement were left by the municipality after doing ‘repairs’ on the road.
Imtiaz Syed, who sits in the human settlements and infrastructure committee and is also the Active Citizens Coalition president said that the issue of water and sanitation is one that needs urgent attention as sewerage line blockages are becoming a norm especially around ablution facilities that the city has erected.
“Socio economic conditions around the citizens that live in these settlements does not allow fair use of toilet facilities in some instances especially around the issues of what can and cannot be flushed down the toilet. As we would like to believe that all our issues are compounded to the influx of shack settlement in the the suburbs, we should also be cognizant of the fact that the infrastructure in these suburbs have not been upgraded in terms of capacity or sustainability since democracy,” said Syed.
Ernest Smith, ward 27 councillor said that he is aware of the issue on Norse Road. He said that he has contacted the roads department to request that it gets sorted.
“Having conducted an oversight on the street, I found that there are still spoils on the road, which is definitely a concern in terms of safety and general upkeep for this suburb as this should have been removed some time ago. I have contacted the roads department to request this gets tended to urgently however there seems to be a reoccurring leak on one of the sections on Norse Road. This has also been communicated to the water department from my end to get this resolved urgently,” said Smith.
He added that that there is a big issue of communications within the city departments. “Unfortunately there seems to be some silo mentality between the departments which I have repeatedly raised that the departments need to develop a ‘click in’ approach with better streams of communication, both internally and externally.”
Msawakhe Mayisela, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson said: “Issues raised by residents have all been escalated to the relevant unit. The City always responds when such matters are reported.”
