‘New dawn’ and new home for Gwala family of Ladysmith

Friday (August 21) saw a second visit by uThukela District Mayor Siphiwe Mazibuko to the Gwala family, who reside in the eMjindini area of Umhlumayo.

That day marked a ‘new dawn’ for the Gwala family, as the mayor told them a new house is set to be built for them. This revelation comes after Mayor Mazibuko visited the family on July 18 (Mandela Day) and witnessed the fact that they are living in dire conditions. He vowed to assist them with a house they can really call home. The district mayor kept his word.

Mayor Mazibuko was accompanied on the visit by Water & Technical Services chairperson Cllr S Dlungwane, as well as various stakeholders. The mayor managed to get a few stakeholders on board, including Sydwalt Construction, who committed to build a brand new two-bedroom house for this family.

“We came here on Mandela Day and promised to come back to intervene, so here we are. What we saw on our first visit was not pleasing at all. Our activity that day was to implement a ‘One Home, One Garden’ programme, but we realised this was not something anyone can call home. So we are here to do sod-turning, as a service provider will be undertaking the construction project. Once they are finished, we will come back again to do a proper handover of the completed house,” the mayor explained.

Temporary shelter has been erected to accommodate the family while construction is in progress. The contractor started work on Monday (August 24) and Mayor Mazibuko said he is expecting this project to be finished by September 25, when the house will also be fully furnished.

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The Gwala family members cried tears of joy, as the mayor has indeed fulfilled his promise and intervened.

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