Umtamvuna Views: Outraged residents demand action
The area is currently on day 16 without full restoration to the entire town.
PORT Edward and Banners Rest Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association held a community meeting on Monday this week to address the town’s water crisis. Some 350 people attended and despite Ward 1 councillor Dorica Mthuli’s assurances that she would attend, she failed to pitch. She later informed the chairman that she was at an ANC meeting in Durban.
ALSO READ : Umtamvuna Views: Community steps up
The community signed a petition addressed to the Minister of Water Affairs, the Department of Water Services and Ugu District Municipality to immediately restore supplies and take urgent action to ensure ongoing water security.
Port Edward and adjoining satellite villages have suffered water interruptions for years. Over the past month the situation has become untenable, with some residents and businesses being without water for two weeks. Continuous Ugu promises never materialise and their plumbers have been doing their best to repair broken pipes and equipment. It appears that general maintenance has not been done and the whole system is collapsing.
The ongoing water crisis has, and continues to have, a huge negative impact on health, hygiene, livelihoods and tourism. Contact PEBRRA chairman Douglas Powell at 071 3196281 for more information
Lucky Llewellyn
Llewellyn Angus (84) of Munster was lucky to escape death recently. He and his wife Rita (84) visited Kruger Park Lodge in Hazy View during April. One evening while they were enjoying sundowners on the deck, Llewellyn moved his legs and felt a sharp pain in his ankle.
He had been bitten by a snake later identified as a Mozambican spitting cobra. The resort immediately called an ambulance which arrived within minutes and rushed him to Nelspruit MediClinic where he spent three days in ICU. The couple has since returned home and Llewellyn is grateful to be alive as being bitten by this serpent is often fatal.
Shoreline cleanup
Over Easter, upwards of 500mm of rain was measured. Rivers, streams and waterways were flushed out and one of the results was the accumulation of debris on beaches and rocky shorelines.
Getting rid of as much plastic as possible was a priority and initially there were only two workmen and one casual, but grateful thanks go to Piet and Steph Breedt for sponsoring five more men.
Looking After Leisure Bay (LALB) came to the party and by the end of the day, a big dent had been made in the amount of plastic and glass. Thanks to a generous donation from Leisure Bay Ratepayers’ Association, five men continued cleaning daily for a week.
An huge amount of plastic will not end up in the ocean and a great job was done by all. The recovery along the southern KZN shoreline will be long and the help of residents of all coastal villages is vital.
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