Water tankers bleeding iLembe dry

Mayor vows clamp down on rampaging costs

By Musa Mnyandu

Ilembe District Mayor Thobani Shandu is not a happy man. This comes as the municipality continues to bleed finances through the continuous, and extremely costly, use of water tankers sourced from private contractors.

Speaking at a Special Council Meeting held on Tuesday last week, Mayor Shandu called for drastic action to reign in the skyrocketing water tanker coasts, and also expressed serious reservations about the glaring discrepancy between rand spend and the actual service being provided to consumers.

“There is no way in which we can rest on our laurels whilst our people continue to be plagued by water shortages despite the huge chunk allocated to make up for the gaps in the water services. I have since instructed the Municipal Manager to run an internal enquiry in order to establish the real nature of this discrepancy,” stated Mayor Shandu.

The Mayor also used the occasion to express strong dissent to the tariff hikes being proposed by both energy regulator NERSA and bulk water supplier Umgeni. The District Council has resolved to lodge an objection with NERSA.

“Our interpretation is that our communities will bear the brunt of this insensitive decision; it is (us) who are better placed to aptly interpret the concrete conditions of the masses of our people. It is in this spirit that we will register our concern with NERSA,” Shandu indicated.

Denouncing the 9% tariff hike proposed by Umgeni Water, Shandu said it was completely unjustifiable, when taking into account the reality on the ground, and the ever diminishing purchasing power of ordinary citizens.

Incommunicado

Meanwhile, the embattled District Municipality is continuing to attract strong criticism over frequent water outages, especially in KwaDukuza CBD and surrounding areas. Residents say the stoppages occur without notice, and added that municipal officials often pick that precise moment to become incommunicado.

Frustrated residents further claimed that some areas endure up to 20 hours of either no water or low water pressure, in a day. Areas like Cato Street, Goolam Suleiman, King Shaka Street and Residentia are the hardest hit.

Mayor Shandu has made an undertaken to vigorously tackle challenges related to water supply, a promise that has been made previously, with no positive results forthcoming.

By Xpress Reporter

The SA National Roads Agency (SANRAL) has so far lost approximately R300 million worth of revenue, through the waiver of toll fee payments at the Umvoti and Tongaat toll gates.

This emerged at a high level meeting held last week to deliberate he decision by the roads agency to reinstate toll fees for the two toll plazas, a decision that elicited much unhappiness among a wide range f stakeholders, including KwaDukuza Mayor Lindile

Nhaca, who promptly lodged an objection with SANRAL.

The emergency high level meeting, which took place in Durban on Tuesday night, involved MEC for Transport

Sipho Hlomuka, MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) Siboniso

Duma, Ilembe District Mayor Thobani Shandu, KwaDukuza Mayor Lindile

Nhaca, Mandeni Mayor Thabani Mdlalose, representatives from SANRAL led by Board Chairperson Themba Mhambi and Group CEO Reginald Demane, President of iLembe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Andy Horton and other stakeholders.

In her objection to the reinstatement of toll fees, Mayor Nhaca had outlined some major outstanding repairs on arterial roads in the region, a situation that still compels many motorists to utilise the N2 Highway.

Following intense deliberations, the meeting resolved to suspend the upliftment of the waiver, pending further consultations between the relevant stakeholders.

SANRAL Chairman

Themba Mhambi stressed the urgency to find solutions to outstanding challenges, so that the resumption of toll fees could be expedited.

“We understand the plight of the people, but we need to find a solutions. Sanral and government is losing a lot of money which should be going to the maintenance. We believe that working together with the provincial government we will find solutions. We have decided not to uplift the waiver but instead allow for more consultations and explore all workable solutions that will alleviate pressure from the residences” said Mhambi.

Responding on behalf of the government, MEC Duma said, the flexibility by SANRAL to allow for more consultations with stakeholders and motorists is a progressive decision and must be applauded.

“We believe that working together with all stakeholders and communities we will find a solution. We agree that at some stage motorists need to resume paying but that must be balanced with fixing the alternatives. We believe that with the consultations we will arrive a constructive and balanced outcome,” said Duma.

Outstanding

SANRAL also presented updates on repairs of other flood damaged infrastructure and progress in capital projects in the province.

SANRAL also reported that they have finalized the appointment of contractors to work on the repair of N2 uMgababa and N2 in Umhlali.

Speaking on SABC TV on Thursday last week, Mayor Nhaca once again appealed to SANRAL to bear with the North Coast motorists, emphasizing that the road infrastructure network in the Region was in a bad shape.

Nhaca indicated that private business sector in the Region, through industry body Ilembe Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (ICCIT), had at some stage utilized its own funds to undertake some of the most urgent repairs. Unfortunately some of the serious damages remain outstanding. Taking to social media, some local residents wrote: “We appreciate and thank the Mayor of KDM for fighting against the re-introduction of toll fees. We the residents of KwaDukuza make an earnest appeal to you Madam Mayor to take up the matter of poor service delivery by iLembe Municipality meted out to the residents of KwaDukuza”?