While the beginning of the year means change and a fresh start for many, the residents of wards 27 and 31 said they have seen no change in eThekwini Municipality’s ‘poor’ service delivery as the city’s infrastructure is being crippled by unscrupulous contractors and incompetent staff members.
The disgruntled residents living in Overport, Essenwood, Sydenham, Greyville, Asherville and Springfield said burst water pipes in their communities led to them not having water for three to five days recently due to ‘zero service delivery’ by the city. They have also raised the issue of incomplete work, where the department fixes a broken pipe and leaves the spoils for weeks without collecting them at certain roads.
Heather Kohler, a resident of Oakleigh Drive said they had one of the worst Christmas periods.
“Many residents were without power for days and were desperately concerned about food in fridges and freezers going off. There have been reports of food having to be thrown away. The councillor tried her utmost best to assist but was faced with unanswered calls and nobody was responding to resolve the desperate situation residents found themselves in. This is totally unacceptable. We all pay rates and to have arrogant and unresponsive municipality workers during a crisis like this leaves ratepayers seething with anger. Action should be taken to make municipal employees aware that the people who pay their salaries need to be looked after when they find themselves in the circumstances that arose during the holiday period.”
Ward 31 councillor, Remona McKenzie said that Christmas and New Year is supposed to be a time where families spend time with their loved ones, however, for some residents, it was the worst festive season.
“Residents experienced intermittent water issues and others no water for three to five days. This is totally unacceptable. The turnaround time is very slow, and at times, job cards are closed, and work is not done. Residents reported water leaks last year and, to date, are not repaired. Tons of water is being wasted in our city. Leaks cause further damage to the road surface and cause sinkholes such as the one on Ridge Road near the clinic. There was a burst pipe previously, and the department took months to reinstate after many emails and requests. Now, the surface seems to be collapsing. This issue has been logged and escalated on the system. This is a busy road, and the department needs to repair urgently before another accident takes place,” said McKenzie.
She added that the municipality needs to prioritise these issues as a matter of urgency, and infrastructure needs to be upgraded. “Residents can no longer be subjected to living in a turmoil, not knowing what is next. They are living in a ward full of dug land mines that are not reinstated in time. No safety signs or barricades are put in place to indicate or alert residents specifically at night, which has become a norm. Residents should be getting the best service because this area is regarded as one of the highest ratepayers in the city.”
Councillor McKenzie said the extended periods of load shedding and system breakdowns another huge concern, and residents are questioning when will it end. “In addition to the infrastructure issues and budgetary constraints of reduced overtime, turnaround time for repairs is at its lowest. Residents who were supposed to enjoy the festive season were instead subjected to damaged appliances and food spoilt which extends to extra expenditure,” she said.
Dr Annie Singh, chairperson of the Asherville Ratepayers’ Association said that the residents are tired and frustrated by the extended hours of ‘unanticipated outages’.
“Residents who had contacted us had complained of how the extended periods of load shedding had affected their sick family members, with the elderly and the infirm not being able to be administered their medication on time. The disgruntled residents were not happy that this was a problem that had continuously prevailed during the festive period when residents were in the midst of festivities during this time,” said Singh.
Elyse Brissett, ward 31 committee member under the Electricity, Water and Sanitation Portfolio said that due to the municipality’s lack of sense of urgency, they have had numerous leaks, power outages and also sinkholes caused by underground leaks being ignored in spite of them reporting the issues and receiving reference numbers.
Ward 27 councillor, Ernest Smith said, “The issue of sinkholes could be due to the drain not being fixed properly as there were problems on site with the way the infrastructure was constructed, however this will be determined by the staff who are tasked to fix it. Residents reported the sinkhole in Greyville, near the bridge previously and it has been escalated to the department for attention.”
Msawakhe Mayisela, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson said, “All incomplete work which has left spoils around the city as a result of repairs to infrastructure is being attended. The municipality apologies for the inconvenience.”
