By Luvuyo Mjekula
Frustrated by a persistent lack of proper services and alleged negligence by Makana Municipality, Alicedale residents took their grievances to Makhanda on Thursday, first stopping at Capitec Bank to demand an ATM for the town, before marching to the City Hall to confront municipal officials.
From virtually non-existent street lighting, raw sewage overflowing from manholes into homes and the local river, to disgraceful sports field and amenities and poor infrastructure and roads, residents of the small town, situated about 50km from Makhanda, have borne the brunt of poor service delivery for years.
To add insult to injury, the town has been without an ATM for months and residents say the USave store does not have enough money and cashback transactions at local spaza shops are expensive. The residents say the town has more than 5000 Capitec customers.
“Really, we are in big trouble in Alicedale. Makana Municipality must come and help Alicedale,” exclaimed resident Sybel Peterson, as a group of about 30 placard-waving residents toyi-toyied outside the High Street branch of Capitec Bank and City Hall on Thursday.
The residents’ demands included the following:
- Village refuse dump is a public health hazard – a major overhaul urgently required and boundary fencing essential,
- Motivate Alicedale municipal workforce – provide essential tools and equipment,
- ‘Unknown’ number of homes and premises have no pre-paid electricity meters (or have been ‘tampered with’),
- Illegal buildings, ie, no drawing submission, ie, have no ‘formal’ planning approval,
- Restore/re-activate village water-borne sewage system,
- Sports field and amenities a disgrace – boundary wall is unstable – foundations partially undermined. Spectators will be trapped under the wall were it to collapse. Serious injury and/or death could follow.
- Street lighting is virtually non-existent. Public safety and security is seriously compromised,
- Village infrastructure, roads, mains power installations, etc. in chronic poor condition,
- Township sewage and water reticulation in poor condition – raw domestic sewage over-flows from manholes, eg, outside creche in Transriviere. Frequent sewage flows into New Years River.
- Municipal Fire and Emergency response – equipment is inadequate,
- ‘New’ children’s playground is unfenced (cattle, pigs, dogs, etc, free to foul the area),
- No ‘dis-claimer’ sign displayed (accident/s inevitable).
She also complained about the unstable and dangerous fencing of the local rugby field in Transriviere. “It is very, very dangerous for the players, because when we have rugby or any event there in Alicedale, those of us who don’t have money to pay to watch, hang over the fence and it can fall on people.”
Fellow resident, John Bateson, said the wall is “an accident waiting to happen”. “The wall is not just likely to fall over. It will, very, very soon,” said Bateson. He said the foundation has been partially undermined because people climb on top of the wall, pushing each other. “It is an accident waiting to happen. Somebody will be killed.”
He said the municipality has done nothing about the wall for three years. “They have done nothing. Three years ago I first presented it. I have repeated it every year since.” He said he sent photographs of the wall to the municipality three years ago.
Pastor Sayster Gouza of Mandela Park said he had lived in the location since it was formed many years ago. “And you can say I’m staying in the bush, because the streets, there’s nobody who cleans the streets in Alicedale. The sreets are very dirty. There’s a shop close to me – there’s a dumping spot in the yard. And I’m a sick man.”
Gouza said he has to endure inhaling smoke from the shop owners on a daily basis. “In my house, the smoke is all over every day, because they burn [things]every morning and every night.” He said he had tried raising his concern with the owners but to no avail. “They don’t care about us South Africans. They don’t care about me. So, I report to Makana, but Makana can do nothing. Makana must go into Alicedale in the area, Mandela Park, door-to-door and check our yards.”
He accused the municipality of failing to carry out duties such as checking water meters. “They don’t even come to write the water meters. I don’t know if they know how many electric boxes there are in Mandela Park. They don’t know. So, I want them to come and help us in Alicedale, because our older people who stay around that shop will get TB. I am not happy.”
Another resident, Zanemvula Ntoyanto, who is also a project steering committee chairperson in a project to rebuild the Hendrik Kanise Secondary School building, said his major problem was that most of the time, projects that were started in Alicedale were abandoned. Two community halls that were said to have been refurbished remain closed.
Ntoyanto also pointed out that residents in informal settlements were promised toilets and wheelie bins, but none have been delivered. “But we have been shown just a sample of such a toilet that will be there. But after the elections, nothing happened. That sample is still there.”
