Property owner, Jabulani Makhanya has had nothing but frustrations at his building site at ERF 104 as per Ray Nkonyeni Municipality’s (RNM) Town Planning, Lot 1 Park Road in Sunwich Port.

He said a road should be in front of his home, but there is none. Makhanya said the second frustration is that there is no electricity meter on his site and he has to use a generator for construction to continue.

“The road and the meter should have been in place before I started construction. The municipality has been charging me rates and I have paid over R16 000 and not received any services in return,” Makhanya added.

He said with no road access it’s difficult to offload building materials as the delivery trucks have to drive through grass and mud, and sometimes get stuck when it’s raining.

“When I enquired about the road just after I bought the site I was told it would be constructed once my building plans were approved. On receiving approval, I enquired again and did not get a response from the municipality.

As only a water meter is on the site, he contacted Eskom regarding the installation of an electricity meter and was told it will cost R35 000.

Another issue is the storm water drain behind his building. “The drain is blocked and has not been serviced since 2019 after I started building. The drain floods and the water flows on to my site,” Makhanya explained.

Also, with the flooding, he said his property is at risk.

“The dirty water from the drain also breeds mosquitoes which makes it difficult for the construction workers to sleep at night. I have sent several emails to the municipality to sort out these issues but it has fallen on deaf ears. I had to dig a trench from the drain to the next street to stop my site from flooding, “Makhanya said.

He is currently constructing a septic tank just below his property, however water from the storm water drain is making it difficult to build as he has to drain excess water every day.

His neighbour Fritz Vermark from Lot 212 Dan Pienaar Road said the drainage system in the area is a problem. His property also floods during rains.

“I report it to Ugu, but I am told that it’s not their responsibility to fix the drainage system on my property although the water is seeping from pipes underneath my home.”

RNM spokesperson, Simon April said in terms of the electricity box, the property is in an Eskom area of supply, and procedurally the owner of the property has to apply to Eskom.

Once application has been approved and the necessary monies paid, then Eskom will install the electricity meter.

“The issue of the road is another process, the town planning plans may have road or any other infrastructure but its construction depends on the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), the Budget and the Service Delivery Budget and Implementation Plan (SDBIP) of the municipality. The latter depends on the availability of resources and prioritization by RNM council,”April added.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram