KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison Mxolisi Kaunda has strongly condemned the destruction of public property in Ekuvukeni following the violent public protest that took place recently.
Kaunda, who visited the area, called upon members of the community to refrain from damaging public property if they want to raise service delivery challenges with government.
Grievances raised by members of the community include water shortage and overflowing sewer pipes.
The illegal service delivery protest resulted in the torching of the SASSA office and ransacking of the Parliamentary Constituency Office. The incident resulted in the destruction of 700 files and 14 computers being stolen from the SASSA offices. Since the office is closed, SASSA is servicing Ekuvukeni clients from Ezakheni and Ladysmith offices.
Police have opened a case of theft, arson and malicious damage to property.
Read initial story: Watch: SASSA offices set alight by angry protesters in Ekuvukeni
During the community meeting, Kaunda assured protesters that provincial government is working closely with uThukela District Municipality to ensure that the challenges facing the community are speedily addressed.
The municipality has appointed a service provider to undertake the following work: Refurbishing and upgrade of Ekuvukeni Water Treatment Works; drilling of boreholes; refurbishing existing underground water infrastructure; and construction of secondary bulk water infrastructure.
To address the issue of sewage, the municipality has appointed a service provider to refurbish the waste water treatment plant. A maintenance team has also been assembled by the municipality to unblock sewer lines and replace the vandalised manhole covers in the area.
“It is unfortunate that all this work was supposed to start at the beginning of February, but some members of the community decided to block the service provider who was already on site,” said Kaunda.
“We have always appealed to members of the community that if they want to protest, they must do so peacefully and avoid damaging private or public property,” said Kaunda.
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