uThukela Municipal Manager MB Mnguni has confirmed that the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) strike has been suspended and that employees are expected to go back to work.

This comes after stakeholders held a meeting today (April 4).

Mnguni said that further consultations will be taking place up until all the issues are resolved.

Update on water shortages: 

Ward 23, which includes the Jononoskop and Matiwane areas, has been without water for almost two weeks now. Ward Cllr Thobani Dlamini said that this water outage is a result of the SAMWU strike. “We asked the person responsible for water in the area and he told us that his union had instructed him not to open the water, as they were on strike,” said Dlamini. He added that the pumps were damaged and the padlocks destroyed. They will be opening a case regarding this matter.

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uThukela Water & Sanitation chairperson Cllr Mthokozisi Khoza commented that Ward 5, 7, 15, 16 and others are also experiencing water shortages because of broken infrastructure. “The SAMWU strike has had a very negative impact, as we had to operate with a few members who were not on strike. As a result, we, the workers, had to cover a lot of areas, which is difficult. It takes us time to reach all the places where we have to do repairs.”

He also said that the striking workers went with municipal vehicles, making it even more difficult for those at work to perform their duties. “We only have three vehicles, out of 10, and the water tankers are broken. Out of 32, we only have four that are working.

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the strike, more especially because we know the Easter holidays are approaching. There are lots of events and churches have their services, so people will need more water. However, we are optimistic that by Thursday (April 6), everything will be back to normal.”

The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Ladysmith Gazette, a sold newspaper distributed in the Ladysmith area.