KaBokweni and Matsafeni residents express their frustrations over lack of service delivery
Silulumanzi’s Richmond Jele said Matsafeni is one of many areas in the province that has experienced drainage problems. He said these issues are caused by illegal connections to the sewer network lines.

The residents of KaBokweni and Matsafeni have expressed their frustrations with the lack of service delivery in their area.
According to these community members, they deserve better.
A frustrated community member from Siligane in KaBokweni, Thokozani Lukhele, said issues such as a bridge that had not been recovered in years, roads that have been damaged by storms, and water shortages are issues they face on a daily basis.
“The service delivery in our area is close to non-existent. The local bridge has been underground for years. This was caused by rainy weather and it still has not been recovered. The roads have been damaged by heavy rain, which flooded the gravel, making it difficult for residents to walk through the area. We have resorted to contributing money from our own pockets to hire a TLB to help fix the dirt roads so that it is easier to get from one place to another. To solve our issues, we need pavements so that it will be easier to commute.”


Lukhele said this situation makes it hard for learners and teachers to get to the local school, as vehicles cannot pass through the flooded areas. He said it is difficult for them to get to work, as they have to travel for about 10km to get to the nearest bus station.
Lukhele also claimed that the community goes without water and has to rely on buying it elsewhere, and they have to wait for the water tankers from the municipality.
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“The water tankers do not supply water consistently. Sometimes the water trucks only come twice a week. The only solution is to have a consistent water supply,” he said.


Meanwhile, in Ward 14 in Matsafeni, a community member complained about a drain out of which sewage was spilling into his yard. He claims that he deals with this problem every time they get heavy rain.
“After that, the yard is filled with sewage water. I have tried to report it to the City of Mbombela [CoM], but I have not been assisted. Our ward councillor came to assess the situation. He took photos, but I have not got any feedback from him.”
According to Silulumanzi’s Richmond Jele, Matsafeni is one of many areas in the province that have experienced drainage problems. He said only a small portion of the area is a township; the rest is houses that are built on informal stands.
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He said the residents living on these informal stands have the tendency of illegally connecting to the sewer network lines, and by so doing, they channel water into the sewer line, causing it to overflow.
“We have attended to this complaint and many others like this one on numerous occasions, sometimes with the local ward councillor present. The main cause and perpetual problem is that some residents of Matsafeni channel storm water into the sewerage network, which then results in the overwhelming amount of water, sand, debris and stones blocking the sewerage network.”
He added that the solution would be to expand the water infrastructure network.
Lowvelder Express sent an enquiry to the CoM, but the spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, had not responded by the time of publishing.
