By Aphiwe Ngowapi
On the morning of 25 July 2023, eNkanini residents blockaded roads. They stopped an empty water truck that had just delivered water to Extension Six, while they had not had water delivered to them since Friday, the week before.
“We blockaded the water truck to get attention from the municipality because they never have time for us and do not take our grievances seriously,” said eNkanini resident Sivuyile Kulati.
The strategy seemed to work because the drivers eventually returned to the community with water on the same day. “Anything that involves this municipality is tiring; they only understand violence,” said a community member Mthetheleli Tsana.
Additionally, Mayor Yandiswa Vara agreed to meet community members at City Hall on Thursday, 27 July. This meeting follows an earlier attempt to meet with Vara where the eNkanini residents marched down to City Hall in June, demanding to see the Mayor, but was, however, told that the Mayor would respond to them within two days. “The only thing they sent since is a [road]grader that covered the first two streets, forgetting the rest of the Nkanini roads and water situation,” says local activist Patricia May.
The community has been pleading for essential service deliveries such as running water, and the community relies on “ePitsini” for water. “ePitsini” is a hole with some kind of leaking underground pipe where animals and children urinate. The community members use this water for drinking, cooking, cleaning and washing their clothes.
ENkanini resident Asemahle Brakfesi says that children get skin rash from the water in Epitsini as it is unhygienic.
Another resident, Nomthandazo Jali, says her husband has cancer, is bedridden and cannot drink his pills because of the unsanitary water conditions.
Their other grievances are for proper roads to be built because ambulances cannot get into the community, and sometimes wheelbarrows are used to carry the sick to the nearest road so that ambulances can reach them. Another community member, Tsana, suffered a stroke and had to call a church friend to take him to the hospital, as he could not get ambulance services.
The fire brigades also cannot enter the area, and because of water shortages, many houses have burned down, and some people have died inside the house, Kulati adds.
Many ENkanini residents have been promised housing since 2013, which has not materialised. “Elderly people, who vote every election, had died in these terrible conditions of eNkanini while waiting for houses they were supposed to get when Extension Ten was being built. Officials from the Municipality and [Department of Housing] sold these houses to the youth, allowing the elderly to stay in cold zinc structures,” said May.
Another issue highlighted by residents is that they do not have a properly elected Ward Committee. Although they fall under Ward Five, they allege that they are excluded from the municipal plans and budget and IDP proceedings.
The residents further say they were promised toilets but rejected them because “If we only get toilets, they will not want to build us RDPs after,” said May.
Meeting with the Mayor
On Thursday, 27 July, five eNkanini residents met with Mayor Yandiswa Vara, Council Speaker Mthuthuzeli Mabhuti Matyumza, and Ward Five councillor Gcobisa Mene at the municipal chambers to discuss the long overdue water and road crisis.
According to two eNkanini Community members who attended the meeting, Nophelo Vayo and Sivuyile Kulati, very little was achieved in the meeting. The main issues touched on were roads and water. They did say that the Mayor would, however, make a follow-up visit to eNkanini the following week.
“The mayor said she and the other relevant departments would come to eNkanini next Tuesday…to see these roads and also see what needs to be done,” says Vayo. However, the Mayor emphasised she would not be at the location to meet with the community but come to look at the dire circumstances.
Grocott’s Mail was dismissed from the meeting by Vara, who said that the media needed to make an appointment with her assistant to see her or answer questions and that the meeting was strictly between the municipality and the five elected community members. Grocott’s Mail could not find the Mayor’s assistant to make an appointment.
