By Nkosenhle Sibisi
Durban residents are angry and frustrated over the continuous failure of the city’s infrastructure. Among the concerns raised is the issue of perpetual burst pipes and blocked drains which take an unreasonable amount of time to be fixed or rehabilitated. Residents are deeply concerned about the poor turnaround time for assistance with service delivery issues and have claimed to continuously report the problems experienced to no avail.
Residents living on Ridge Road, Essenwood, said there was a continuing problem of burst pipes and faulty streetlights that allow criminals to take advantage of pedestrians and motorists. Blocked and overflowing sewers, perpetual burst pipes and ever-increasing potholes added to their woes. Repairs resulted in huge “craters” being left open and unattended to for weeks, posing a serious danger to drivers, especially on Ridge Road. Residents claimed that these excavations are poorly marked and drivers tend to see these at the “last minute”.
Sheringham Road in Overport is another area which continues to spiral in deterioration with issues such as leaking valves and open manholes. Residents also claimed that there is a sewer pipe that has been blocked for over 90 days and, despite being reported by the PR Councillor Mohammed Ismail and community, the problem has yet to be resolved.
Zain Soosiwala, resident and co-founder of Ethekwini Secure, said that every day, the residents of Morningside wake up to some new crisis – no water, no power or no fibre as someone has hit a line, and all throughout, their calls for service delivery go unanswered.
“The Ridge Road feeder is a main water line that charges several water systems and is so poorly maintained that it requires not a repair, but a complete replacement since 2018 and yet nothing is being done. The health risks of drinking water from an ageing asbestos pipeline notwithstanding, that line has been patched dozens of times only to rupture days later. Municipality workers don’t even bother filling up the craters that these burst pipes leave in their wake. There have been dozens of incidents with vehicles losing tyres and accidents occuring daily; a child even fell into a sinkhole that was left for weeks unattended,” said Soosiwala.
He said that the time for action is coming soon as residents are tired of paying rates for zero services and the city needs to be held accountable for the the slow pace of service delivery.
“There is an issue of arrogant city officials who laugh in the face of our calls or even worse, incompetent councillors who keep giving us this false narrative of ‘escalated’ every time you resurrect the same complaint over and over. The time for a rates boycott is looming and the municipality needs to heed their call or face the onslaught,” added Soosiwala.
Imtiaz Syed, community activist and President of the Active Citizens Coalition, blamed the city’s leadership for having no vision or clear goals which, according to Syed, is problematic in every level of government and has led to the failure of infrastructure.
“Councillors find themselves dealing with issues that should have been automated by officials and management of the city. Electricity is stolen daily, we have no resources to tackle the problem and even if we do, the informal residents will want to protest. How is it that water infrastructure and shut-off valves don’t have a lifetime replacement or service plan? Yet we, as the citizenry, find vast areas being shut down simply because the nearest shut-off valve is dysfunctional,” said Syed.
He also touched on the issue of the city’s overall infrastructure maintenance and the financial implications of perpetual repairs.
“The city has reached a time of no foresight and without sustainable development, politics and corruption are the order of the day in such an obscene way, without it even being visible. How is it that millions are spent on the resurfacing of roads when in fact resurfacing – according to the municipality – is ash, cement and slurry over existing asphalt? The ideology of ‘if it is not broken, don’t fix it’ does not apply if you want to be ranked among the best cities in the world. Non-revenue water and cleansing services are the order of the day, but at whose expense?”
Syed said that urbanisation is a reality and government has no accommodation for debate around capping non-legal residency such as informal settlements.
“We must, at some point, reach a stage where it will be clear that if the issues raised are not addressed we will end up with a city of unaffordable rates; properties being devalued because of this and a ghost town of unemployed shack-dwellers across the city which will have no revenue to look after itself, thus leading to a failed city,” added Syed.
Meloh Ntleko, owner of Takkie Wash SA in Musgrave, said that his business relies on water and that the issue of infrastructural collapse affects even small business owners and their families. “Burst pipes lead to water cuts and that affects our business as we get held up for the whole day sometimes. This is really taking a toll on our business as water is the most important thing to keep our business going,” said Ntleko
A resident from Hibiscus Place in Berea said failing infrastructure, such as non-functioning streetlights, affects them as residents because it encourages criminals to take advantage of the situation, and that the lack of service delivery by the municipality has contributed to the ease of which criminals operate in the suburb.
“As residents, we are frequently affected during daylight hours with these criminals showing no fear and illegally entering and stealing from private property in full view of the homeowners and neighbours. Crimes such as the theft of copper pipes and items from open areas on private property are the most rife. Streetlights on many roads have been inoperable for many months, which has allowed criminals to operate in the open, as well as hamper community patrollers in identifying foreign vehicles entering the area.
“Open areas have been allowed to descend into jungle-like environments which criminals use as escape routes and hiding areas. Despite numerous reports to the municipality by our ward councillor and residents, these issues go unattended. We have also noticed that our suburb is being reconnoitered, with armed robberies and invasions being the end result,” said the resident, who wished to remain anonymous.
Ernest Smith, the Ward 27 Councillor, said a number of faults have been reported across the area. “Unfortunately, many issues are backlogged and queued as the department has limited resources which have to be scheduled to try and tend to issues. This was one of the issues I raised in Council last month when the city was dealing with an item that assessed the capabilities and shortcomings of the sewerage system and water supply in the city.
“In a nutshell, the amount of burst pipes, blocked drains and ageing infrastructure is making residents question if the municipality is taking their complaints seriously; especially in areas where one has to pay an arm and a leg in rates or taxes. My question to the municipality, Council and the Human Settlements Committee is often around whether the municipality wants to keep its already dwindling ratepayer base. If that’s the intention, then the municipality must start giving the residents the services they are paying for,” said Smith.
EThekwini Municipality was contacted for comment, however, none was received at the time of print.
