By Luvuyo Mjekula and Lindokuhle Fuba
“For 34 years – no houses, no toilets. Do you have no conscience?”
This question was directed at Makana mayor Yandiswa Vara, council Speaker Mtutuzeli Matyumza and three ward councillors at the Recreation Hall yesterday.
Ward 4 residents vented their anger at the Makana Municipality mayoral imbizo to review the 2025/26 Integrated Development Plan.
Zolani and Phaphamani informal settlement residents were angered by the lack of development in their settlements for more than three decades.
“If you had any [conscience], people would not be living in these dire conditions all these years. You get paid, but what kind of leadership are you?” the furious woman further asked the mayor and her team.
The resident said she has lived in Zolani since 1990 and not a single house has been built in the informal settlement.
She also called the municipal officials out for not including their housing situation in the Integrated Development Plan review document Vara presented at the meeting.
The document provided progress on the municipality’s development priorities. These are basic service delivery and infrastructure development, community and social cohesion, local economic development and planning, institutional and organizational development, financial viability and management as well as good governance and public participation.
The key performance areas were the supply of water, infrastructure development and investment as well as sanitation.
However, the residents were far from impressed by the presentation.
A Phaphamani informal settlement resident pointed to housing and road challenges the community faces. “We live in mud. When it rains, all the mud comes down on us. What about the people who live there? Where will we run to?”
He said an elderly man, about 70 years of age, who lives in front of his residence, had been neglected by the municipality for a long time.
The resident complained about the bad state of roads in the area.
“It is difficult for ambulances and police vehicles to enter our area. The roads are bad, there are rocks. If you are sick, we must take you to far places to get you help.”
Another hot topic at the imbizo was the multi-million-rand Oval Sports Ground development project.
The local sporting fraternity alleged that they have not been included in the project.
A local resident told the municipal leadership that the sporting community was not consulted when a Bhisho contractor was hired for the project.
Grocott’s Mail reported four months ago that the project was at a standstill after the contractor was fired.
The resident said they had warned the municipality about appointing a contractor from Ndlambe. “The same director central in the appointment of that contractor came from Ndlambe. We said this is a red flag – this project is not going to be completed. And it happened.”
He said the sporting community, particularly the rugby people, were not consulted about a contractor they heard has been appointed to continue the work. He said they needed to know whether it is a local company and whether it has a track record of successfully completing such projects.
“We cannot have a spaza shop contractor doing a project that is costing us millions.”
He also complained that the last time there was a meeting about the field, they were informed the project was at 60%, but at yesterday’s meeting, they were informed it is currently sitting at 44%.
Vara and her team dismissed some of the allegations, even pointed fingers at politicians trying to score points.
Vara said the municipality was doing its best to make lives better for the residents.
She said a new contractor had been appointed for the Oval Sports Ground project and should start working in the next week.
Vara also reported that 25 informal settlements would be upgraded, whereby phase one would prioritise old informal settlements such as Zolani and Phaphamani.
She said the municipality supported the development of local SMMEs.
The mayor also talked about outreach project the municipality had embarked on, distributing wheelie bins to schools, cleaning the hospital and was working on resuming the provision of black refuse bags to residents.
According to municipal leaders, the municipality is currently a construction site.
The next mayoral imbizo is set to take place at the City Hall this afternoon at 4pm.
