In South Africa, the division between communities is known, Newcastillians who live in the more affluent suburbs of the Amajuba District, as seen throughout many parts of the world, receive premium treatment in comparison to other areas.
Now yes this could be attributed to an array of reasons, for example, prevalent suburbs hold homes which generate more income, pay more TAX, thereby fund the country’s financial requirements better than those found in general areas. But, does this mean that people who don’t hail from less, receive inadequate treatment? Or could there simply be innocent oversights from local Municipalities?
Through our daily lives, you and I will note the varying service levels from local municipalities, but for the most part, if there is a burst pipe in your road or you wake up to a sewage leak, regardless of a potentially extended time frame, the issue will be sorted out.
But then you get people like 64-year-old Vusi Tshabalala who goes to bed most nights without running water, and when he and the residents in his neighbourhood do finally have flowing taps, it only lasts for but a few moments and then is off again for days at a time. What makes this worse, it’s been going on since the 80s, according to Tshabalala.
Tshabalala shares his daily experiences with Newcastillians to offer fresh insight into the harsh realities of the community living around Sekusile Secondary School in Madadeni, Section 3. “This is a problem which has been ongoing for years. I grew up in this neighbourhood, and it was an issue back then already, and I am talking about back in the day.”
Tshabalala goes on to say, “The water goes off about twice a week at least. But then it sometimes stays off for about four to five days. There are days when the water comes on, simply to go off again two hours later.” And when residents complain, He says they are told the pump required to push the water through to their suburb is not strong enough. “After all these years, this is unacceptable. Something needs to be done to address the issue. Especially with the current pandemic.”
Considering the current demand for hyper sanitation due to COVID-19 and just the sheer necessity for daily hygiene, places this community under massive strain, without any resolve insight. Imagine if you will, the Municipality, for decades, never pitched to remedy that annoying pothole in front of your driveway, let alone inconsistent, limited water supply.
With an irregular supply of water, Tshabalala explains residents are obligated to plan their days ahead and must collect water. A task which should not be an issue in modern-day society. “You go to sleep and there is water, but when you wake up for work and want to bathe, there is nothing,” he says.
Cooking is just as an irksome task, thanks to the unpredictability of the water. “There are nights where the water only comes on at 6 pm or 8 pm and then we need to make supper.”
As we close off one of the most eye-opening, “return to humanity” years of our species in many years. It is through the words of people like Vusi that we get to understand the privileges we tend to overlook living in more sort after areas. And simultaneously, we get to see the challenges of our fellow Newcastillians.
To assist this group of Newcastillians, the Newcastle Municipality was contacted for comment regarding the matter. According to Mlungisi Khumalo, head of communications at the Newcastle Municipality, the Water Services department is unaware of this issue. Whereby he states, “There was no complaint received from residents with regards to this issue, nor did we receive a complaint from the section 3 ward councillor, Cllr Mwali, who is always the first person to call the municipality when there is a water-related issue in his ward.”
Moreover, Khumalo elaborates the Water Services department is unaware of the supply water pump that is being referred to, because Newcastle East which comprises of Madadeni, Osizweni and Blaaubosch, source their water supply from the Brakfontein Reservoir, which is fed by the Buffalo River, Ingagane and Ntshengwayo dam.
“The only challenge that was experienced between August and September 2020 was a shortage of water supply due to the low levels of water at the Buffalo River, but after the heavy rainfalls everything went back to normal,” he affirms.
However, Khumalo assures the Newcastle Municipality will closely monitor the situation in the area. He concludes, “As a listening and caring Municipality, our key objective is to ensure that whenever our residents are dissatisfied, we act swiftly. Our goal is to ensure that all residents have access to water and proper sanitation. We will be sending a municipality representative to also assess the problem.”
Residents are urged to report any water-related issues to 0860 144 144.
We hope to see Vusi and the community around him, enjoying stable, running water and some form of normality in the very near future based on the Municipality’s positive response. As the adage goes, “Only time will tell”.
Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
Authors: Quinton Boucher and Calvin Swemmer
Edited: Calvin Swemmer
2 Responses
Thanks Quinton for taking this issue up
The problem is the infrastructure has never been upgraded. The none maintaiance of the existing one. The Municipality is not proactive instead they are reactional to a problem that has come out. There is a lack of monitoring of the municipal officials and a no accountability no qonsiquence in failing to honour service delivery. Mostly it’s being caused by lack of skill and experience together with the unskilled cadre deployment. Executives and officials are not in touch with the people on the ground. My recommendation will be to get remuneration based perfomance though the reports and visual evidence. This will expose a lot of talking heads but no proper outcomes.