Water and electricity is a priority in Ward One

Mike Dladla has committed to bring piped water to the residents in his ward.

The Ward 1 councillor has spent the past few years working hand-in-hand with the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) on a project to establish 12 boreholes in Nketheni, a rural area in his ward.

“Nketheni has been without water for a long time. We have delivered two large water tanks from which the community can collect water, but we are trying to get piped water to their houses. We are working with the municipality’s MISA on a project, that will establish 12 boreholes in the area.

“We had water-boreholes already, but they were getting old and had to be repaired. One is currently being upgraded. We have water trucks delivering water at present but it is a challenge, because we don’t have enough trucks for the job.”

Along with the water project, Cllr Dladla has been instrumental in the electrification of many households in the ward.

“Most of Ward 1 residents had electricity. We have installed electricity for about 305 households, and will continue this once the adjustment budget for 2020/2021 is finalised.”

He said the area will soon be totally electrified.

“We are proud the Department of Energy approved our solar system project. About 24 houses will have electricity through that project, which started last year. In the process, we also ran a workshop for the community on how to use electricity safely.”

Housing projects:

In 2016, Cllr Dladla helped with getting approval to build 1 500 housed in Charlestown.

“These were to be built by the Department of Human Settlements. So far, 1 200 houses are complete and occupied.
“We hope to be totally done by 2021. That project cost stood at R200-million and most houses just need the final infrastructure like water pipes, and proper roads to run through the area.”

With the quality of roads still in the spotlight, Cllr Dladla confirmed the team had begun ‘re-gravelling’ most of the Charlestown area’s roads, which were damaged after heavy rains in 2018.

“The roads were in a bad sate and had a lot of potholes. We had most roads graded even though we struggled to get equipment. I was also able to re-open a road that was closed in Charlestown, where a school and clinic are situated. It was previously a gravel road, but we managed to tar it and this was funded by the municipality at a cost of about R1.3-million.”

Toilet projects:

Since 2017, Ward 1 has been running a programme in conjunction with the municipality, where 22 Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilet systems were delivered to households at a cost of approximately R242 000.

“In the Majuba area, there were 50 VIP toilets delivered to homes, at a cost of R505 000.”

Community projects:

“The Department of Arts and Culture in Newcastle, together with CoGTA, approved building a library for the community of Blaauwbosch last year. That is a R18-million project, and the library is almost done but needs to be furnished. It was a good project because it created many employment opportunities for local workers and sub-contractors.”

The Charlestown Community Hall is also in the process of being rebuilt.

“It was there but it was poorly built as there was a problem with the structure and an investigation had to be carried out to figure what caused the problem. We are still busy with paperwork with the municipality and relevant service providers to find a way to finish that project as soon as possible. There’s a few things still to fix now, like electricity lines and getting it furnished.”

Challenges:

Cllr Dladla said, as the direct liaison for one of the biggest wards in the area, there is much still to be done and many challenges to face.

“We sometimes struggle to get roadwork equipment to repair the roads. There are many areas to fix and people tend to be impatient. We try our best, by setting up work repair schedules for different wards. Another challenge we face in Ward 1 is that there aren’t enough water tankers to deliver water to the Nkwelo area. Continual rain also made it difficult to work on the roads, because most of the Ward 1 areas are rural and the mud makes it difficult for any work to be done. We just ask that the community work with us, and understand that we try our best to deliver services to our people.”

ALSO READ: Councillor tackles her challengers

Contact us

WhatsApp: 082 874 5550

Email: Reveshni Douglas (Editor) at reveshni@caxton.co.za

Make sure you follow us for regular updates: