Water shortages could affect tourism
As a tourist destination, St Lucia is duty-bound to provide visitors with certain standards.
ON the eve of Human Rights Day St Lucia residents find themselves constantly struggling for uninterrupted water supply, a basic human right and vital sanitation service.
Ruptured pipes due to insufficient maintenance left residents and visitors without water for, at times, days on end.
New RDP houses at Khula will add further strain to the aged system, while future ‘eco’ plots in the Dukuduku Forest have been allocated an unsustainable 5 000 litres of water per day. New reservoirs are empty while water source licensing takes time.
As a tourist destination, St Lucia is duty-bound to provide visitors with certain standards.
In an open meeting on Monday, organised by the St Lucia Ratepayers’ Association (RPA), residents were given the opportunity to voice concerns to those who spend their money.
Mtubatuba Mayor Robert Ntuli and the Municipal Manager Siyabonga Ntuli were among those representing the municipality. Coincidentally, St Lucia was without water on Monday, setting the tone for a tense meeting in the packed town hall.
In his opening statement, St Lucia RPA Chairman Rudi Redinger said St Lucians felt ‘sidelined and hurt’, later alluding to a last resort of withholding rates should basic services not be attended to.
Under the umbrella of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), major issues including water, sewage, the landfill site and general maintenance were up for discussion. As uMkhanyakude District Municipality is responsible for water, sewage and the landfill site, such questions could not be dealt with. The Municipal Manager did, however, assure the public their concerns would be passed on.
In his opening statement, Mayor Ntuli acknowledged Mtubatuba Municipality’s inherent financial problems leading to an apparent lack of interest in St Lucia. Apologising, he said, ‘There is no municipality without its residents and ratepayers’.
Renovate hall or lose convention
General maintenance, particularly structural, was discussed at length. St Lucia Town Hall hosts numerous tourism events annually. Included in this year’s calendar is the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry’s (SAACI) 2014 convention.
SAACI officials have, however, already warned St Lucia that it will lose the right to host this convention should the town hall not receive major renovations. This would cause irreparable damage to St Lucia’s reputation as a major tourist destination.
Despite the municipality’s previous promises of renovation, nothing has been done. On Monday the Municipal Manager assured the public of provision for hall renovations in the adjustment budget, ensuring timeous completion of such work.
In his closing statement, the Municipal Manager thanked St Lucians for their ‘constructive criticism’, confirmed all complaints would be taken seriously and promised regular communication in the future.
