Groutville residents without water for a month barricade road

Residents of Mbonisweni in Groutville barricaded the main road on Monday to highlight their plight after being without water for almost a month. 

Angry members of the community took their frustration out by blocking the Cranbrook Road with sand and said they will block the road until someone from the municipality pays attention to them.

They told the Courier that they had tried reaching out to their ward 9 councillor, Phumelele Dube, but she was not able to help nor give them an explanation as to why there is no water in the area.

Resident Ntuthuko Gumede said they do not know who to speak to because no one is paying attention to them. 

“The sad part is that there are 4 grannies in this area who can’t walk and one of them uses adult diapers, which means she needs water to keep herself clean,” said Gumede.

Another resident, Thule Mthiyane who looks after her 66-year-old granny, who had a stroke and can’t walk properly and also needs to use water every day for hygiene purposes.

“It’s been 3 days now and we have not given her a bath and that’s a big problem, because due to her age and health condition, she needs to stay clean at all times. We can’t even wash her clothes,” said Mthiyane.

She said she has been hiring a bakkie to deliver water for her family and that water lasts them for 2 or 3 days. 

“Fortunately, I am working and able to buy water, what about those families where no one is employed. How do they survive?” asked Mthiyane.

However, acting senior manager of technical services Cingisa Mbola refuted the claims and said the water challenges started on Saturday, October 10 as a result of a power outage at the Mbonisweni pump station which supplies the area. 

“KwaDukuza Municipality’s electricity department was immediately informed to resolve the issue. Water tankers were sent but were chased away by an angry mob. The ward councillor, Dube and Ilembe has been addressing the community on the water issue.

Last night (Sunday, October 11) the power switch was tampered with by some members of the community which then lead to another supply cut.

The power has been restored and water is flowing except for a small section of KwaMaMbonambi which is likely to receive water later than other areas due to terrain.

“On our interaction with Cllr Dube and the community it transpired there are other main issues that have contributed to the protest other than water and the councillor is busy attending to the community regarding the other issues,” said Mbola.