uMhlabuyalingana residents demand water

RESIDENTS of Madonela Reserve in uMhlabuyalingana staged a two-day protest on Monday and Tuesday last week, demanding water and tarred roads.

Resident Thulasizwe Ndlovu said since the lockdown the community has struggled with water provision, having to fetch water from the river far from their residential areas.

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‘Our area has been neglected for a long time.

We only expect decent service delivery, nothing more.’

‘We have to share our water resources with animals.

The situation is unacceptable.

‘The river is far and the elderly cannot carry 25-litre water container over long distances.

They are obliged to hire young people to get water for them,’ Ndlovu said.

He added that most of the residents do have water tanks, but the district municipality fails to fill them.

‘Communal tanks were delivered but not installed and are unused.’

uMkhanyakude District Municipality Communications Manager, Mdu Dlamini, said his municipality will urgently dispatch water tankers to supply the community with water.

Neglected roads is another issue the protesters feel strongly about.

They claim government officials promised to upgrade the D1836 road years ago, but nothing has materialised.

‘Motorists battle to drive on this bumpy gravel road,’ said Ndlovu.

‘The former MEC for Transport, Mxolisi Kaunda, is well aware of our plight.

We have been demanding answers from the local committee tasked to work on the road project, but receive no answers.

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