- Residents of Scott’s Farm and Vergenoeg have been left without reliable access to clean drinking water and are forced to rely on charitable organisations for survival.
- Raw sewage flows through streets and residential yards, posing a serious health risk.
- Damaged water and sewage infrastructure has created a humanitarian crisis.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Eastern Cape Provincial Government, calling for urgent intervention to assist residents of Scott’s Farm and Vergenoeg in Makhanda, who continue to endure inhumane and hazardous living conditions.
Sewage flows through the streets and lies in pools in the yards of residents, while access to water has become non-existent. The Makana Municipality has completely reneged on their legislative responsibility to provide drinking water to residents, who are now totally dependent upon the goodwill of Non-Profit Organisations such as Gift of the Givers for access to drinking water. The few residents who do have water in their taps are at risk as the water is allegedly contaminated with sewage.
Furthermore, the roots of huge trees in the area have grown into non-functional sewage and water pipes and have caused untold damage to many RDP houses in the area, cracking and shifting house walls. This damage creates massive risk to the residents who live in these structures, as the risk of walls collapsing is imminent. There is also no road infrastructure in these areas.
During an oversight visit to these communities last Friday, it was revealed that these issues have been raised on a regular basis with both the ward councillor and the municipal officials for several years, without any meaningful response.
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I have written to the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Zolile Williams, to highlight these deplorable conditions and to strongly urge that an immediate intervention is initiated to repair all sewage and water lines, with definitive timelines for the implementation and completion of such intervention.
I have also written to the MEC for Human Settlements, Siphokazi Lusithi, to urgently request that she provide temporary structures for those whose houses are no longer structurally sound, as well as a clear and timebound plan to either effect repairs or rebuild the damaged houses.
While the Makana Municipality runs around at the last minute to clean verges and fill the worst potholes on the main arterial roads in preparation for the National Arts festival, they continue to ignore the plight of their own residents. While the income of the festival is welcome and crucial to the economic survival of Makhanda, it cannot be that the permanent residents remain completely unserviced by the uncaring ANC-led local government.
It is time to restore dignity to the people of Makhanda. It is time to vote out the incapable ANC in the Makana Municipality and replace them with the only party that has a track record of clean governance and service delivery. The DA stands ready to serve and get Makana working.