Earlier in the week, eThekwini municipality said the bulk supplier provided it with less water through the Durban Heights Treatment Works. The municipality says they found large amounts of algae clogging the filters, leaving one bulk pipeline open to move water to the city’s reservoirs. The result is water is going into the system at a much lower level.
It affected supply to the northern parts of the city. DA caucus leader in eThekwini, Thabane Mthethwa, says they were updated in a meeting between the Water and Sanitation Department, the city and the bulk supplier. “We are still not there, but it is positive that something is being done and that the supply from the bulk water supplier is stabilising the system. Supply to residents in the city has not started yet until the system is fully stabilised.” Frustrated Durban North residents have described the situation on the ground. “We just get the same responses; it doesn’t matter what happens. All we want to know is when the water is coming back. When we ask questions, we get shut down. We are then seen as we are attacking, and yet we are just frustrated with the water shortages. Our kids cannot bath.”
Residents are genuinely fed up with the way the water crisis is being handled by the municipality. There is frustration with the lack of clean water in the city. They have no time to hear about the science of clogged algae. They want results now. The Municipality needs to have the area pumped clean of the algae to move the water more freely again. Stabilising the system is going to take its time. The water used by Durban North residents will be at risk of causing cholerae so it would be better to use chloride to clean the water as well as boil it. The new supply of bulk water though is going to cost money. Ratepayers could see that money squeezed out of their income. eThekwini region needs to repair this problem soon. Its residents need clean water not only to bath but to drink for their health.
On a drive through the Durban city centre this week, on my way to City Hall to interview eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba, I could not help but note how clean the city was. Gone was the sight of piling rubbish that often littered sections of the City and new road marking had been freshly painted on some streets. Over the past few months, residents of Durban have noticed this too and have taken to social media and other platforms to note the new energy that is sweeping through the City. Street lights that have not worked for years have been fixed, there are fewer delays in picking up rubbish in the suburbs, electrical faults and water leaks are being fixed within a few hours and it is rare to come across a non-functioning traffic light.
So, the Council is cleaning up its act under its new mayor. The question is how long will it last? Durban is a major industrial hub and holiday destination so it would make sense to look after it. The city needs to be clean, neat and efficient if it wants to attract investors. No one wants to live or invest in an unattractive city. New Mayor Cyril Xaba still has a long road ahead to restore Durban and the eThekwini region’s beauty. Crime especially organized crime remains a sharp thorn in the city’s side. Its going to take all the efforts of the municipal government to pull that thorn out without worsening the wound. A municipality is a reflection of the state’s higher levels of government. Its inner workings are the first thing outsiders including foreign investors will notice.
Yes, there are still many challenges around service delivery that still persist, but it feels like Durban is on an upward trajectory. Xaba, who took over the mayorship of eThekwini Municipality in early July after the ANC removed Mxolisi Kaunda, is driving this renewed energy sweeping the City. On the day my interview with him had been set, Xaba, he had just met with the Minister of Public Works, Dean Macpherson to map a way forward to rejuvenate the bad buildings plaguing the city. The next day he was at the forefront, along with KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Nhanhla Mkhwanazi, to raid several bad buildings in the city centre where over 100 illegal immigrants were rounded up.
Over the past few weeks, the new mayor has criss-crossed the city, meeting with ratepayers to find solutions to the myriad of problems they have raised with the City such as billing, water provision and sanitation.
Durban, like the rest of the country has hit the rock bottom and is now moving up. The municipal council still has some obstacles and challenges it needs to overcome. The police have made some inroads in breaking up the drug trade and arresting illegal migrants. The next big step would be to attract tourists to the city. The key goal of the mayor is to rejuvenate the city for both national and foreign investment. This is so jobs can be generated for the employment of residents. Modernizing the city and combatting crime should be mayor Xaba’s main goal. The role of politicians at the local level is to the concerns and interests of their wards before themselves.
The mayor has a very tough and uncomfortable job ahead of him. He has to improve the roads and municipal government departments such as waste disposal management. The array of dismal situations among which is the cohabitation of organized crime with business is going to be a major controversy to deal with. Mayor Cyril Xaba needs all the help he can get. The water sanitation and distribution form another bone of contention.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
