KwaDukuza residents burn tyres and storm municipal building in protest of ongoing water crisis

Frustrated KwaDukuza residents descended on the iLembe municipality offices in KwaDukuza this morning, demanding solutions to the dire ongoing water situation.

Around 70 residents from communities around KwaDukuza, mostly from Stanger Heights, Stanger Manor and Glenhills, set tyres alight and stormed the offices before municipal officials arrived to answer questions.

A tense situation developed after municipal workers locked the office doors before protesters blocked the road with the burning  tires.

Calls of ‘iLembe must go’, ‘We want answers’ and ‘No services no rates’ echoed through the crowd.

Within about an hour of the initial protest, iLembe mayor Thobani Shandu, municipal manager Geoffrey Kumalo and Umgeni Water representative Pravesh Boodhoo arrived to face the angry crowd.

The dialogue only occurred once protesters had entered the building to demand a face-to-face meeting.

Water issues have rocked the iLembe district over the past month after infrastructural damages following the floods, but residents say it has been a problem for much longer.

“Over the past six years, iLembe has regularly turned off the water supply without letting anyone know. It has been the case for between two to three days a week in my area,” said Glenhills resident, Rishaad Laltaparsad.

“Aside from impacting our human right to a functional water supply system, the constant interruptions are also impacting the pockets of community members,” he said.

“Even when we have water for less than half the month, iLembe still charges us full rates. Although they are inefficient in fixing anything, you better believe they will cut you off the day you stop paying,” said Laltaparsad.

He also claimed water tankers were not sent out during the interruptions, meaning residents have had to buy drinking water.

The floods have exacerbated the problem however, hitting more communities with more frequent outages ever since.

Protest organiser Salim Tootla said he understood the challenges faced by the municipality to some extent, but no communication or contingency plans had been enacted.

“They say we could find out about interruptions on WhatsApp, from their website or on the radio but this has not been the case. We just want transparency on what the problems are so that we can ensure these issues are fixed,” he said.

“We know that the floods have had an impact, but they have had years to fix these problems and put contingency plans in place. It is criminal what they are doing to the communities.”

Upon arrival, Kumalo addressed the crowd on behalf of the municipality.

“I am equally frustrated by these outages and I can promise you that we are trying to find solutions as a matter of urgency. We typically supply 55 million litres a day, but have been forced to supply 90 million litres to refill reservoirs. This has put a huge strain on the infrastructure,” he said.

Boodhoo indicated that consistent vandalism of the pipeline, coupled with failures in the system, have been the primary reasons behind the water supply interruptions before the flooding.

“Once the electrical component of the pipeline system is damaged, it exposes the pipes to corrosion, causing constant water cuts as a result,” he said.

Residents said this was a consistent problem, with pipe leaks wasting millions of litres a day while their taps run dry.

“Give us your best team and I will take them around KwaDukuza and show them where the pipes are so that they can be fixed. No one responds from the municipality, so we are going to have to do it ourselves – as we have done throughout this crisis,” Tootla challenged the officials.

This pointed to the final issue raised by the crowd, that humanitarian organisations are the ones who have been keeping residents supplied rather than the municipality.

In closing the meeting, Kumalo acknowledged receipt of a memorandum drawn up by advocate Ayesha Bissessur, which outline the community’s demands.

Aside from the aforementioned issues, the memorandum also states that “iLembe should give up its hold on the water supply for the town and hand over the responsibility to Siza Water.”

The municipality was given seven days to respond, in which time the gathered residents said they would boycott any waste and water rates.

iLembe spokesperson, Zee Nqala, confirmed that the following areas are still experiencing interruptions:

Sakhamkhanya, San Souci, Shekembula, Ohlange, Mdlebeni, Lindelani, Shakaville, Zamani, Darnall, Zinkwazi, Blythedale, Stanger Manor, Warrenton, Doesburg, KwaDukuza Central Business District, Glenhills, Nyoniyamanzi, Lot 16, Gledhow North, Ntshawini, Groutville, Mission, Thembeni, Dube Village, Malende, Hangoes and Zilungisele.

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