No taps, no toilets: Nkobongo residents still waiting for water access

Residents of Nkobongo and Shayamoya have expressed mounting frustration over the ongoing lack of access to running water in their homes.

Their concerns were raised at the recent KwaDukuza mayoral imbizo, held at Nkobongo Community Hall.

The community said without water connections on their properties, they are unable to install flushable toilets. The issue is particularly severe for elderly residents, who are forced to walk long distances to reach communal taps.

Residents said they have been hearing promises for years but feel no real progress has been made. However in 2021, Siza Water installed yard connections at 234 Nkobongo houses at a cost of R4-million. Siza Water was bought by South African Water Works (SAWW) in 2018. As a gesture of goodwill, a portion of the dividends were used for the Nkobongo project.

Siza Water operations manager Kobus Fourie explained that the upgrade of water services in indigent areas was not the company’s responsibility. However, he confirmed that Siza Water had completed engineering assessments and business plans for such upgrades, which were submitted to the iLembe district municipality for grant funding applications.

“These areas were originally designed to be serviced by communal standpipes. To upgrade the system for yard connections, new infrastructure is needed – including pressure management and reservoir upgrades,” said Fourie.

He noted that Siza Water had proposed using the funds currently paid to the district municipality to directly finance the upgrades, but the municipality chose to continue receiving the payments themselves.

“Siza Water is open to financing these upgrades, but it would require a formal agreement with the iLembe district municipality,” he said.

Fourie said he could not confirm if or when the project would proceed, as the responsibility rests entirely with the district municipality.

Should the project materialise, he said, registered indigent households would continue receiving free basic water, though any usage above the free allocation would be billed.

Fourie also highlighted persistent challenges such as illegal water connections, unplanned building extensions and vandalism. These, he said, damage infrastructure and drive up the cost of service delivery.

At the time of going to print, the iLembe district municipality had not responded to our questions.

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