‘Service delivery has collapsed in Pietermaritzburg’

COMMUNITY activists who have been liaising with the Msunduzi Municipality to resolve the service delivery crisis, say the city is dysfunctional and lacks leadership.

Anthony Waldhausen, the chairperson of the Msunduzi Association of Residents Ratepayers and Civics (Marrc), said service delivery had collapsed.

“The municipality has been placed under administration for the third time and has failed dismally. The main problem is the political interference, cadre deployment, deep-rooted corruption and lack of political will to address the many challenges which is why we approached the national minister of Cogta (Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs) for urgent intervention.”

He said Marrc had been with the residents at coal face and has seen the worsening suffering and hopelessness of residents.

“They suffer billing issues and errors including being slapped with an account for R35.6 million, and outages of essential services that last for weeks on end, where a lack of water and electricity, caused by the poor maintenance and years of neglect infrastructure, is a recurring challenge.”

He said the major challenges remained the lack of financial discipline in the municipality, poor revenue collection and water and electricity theft and the municipality owing Eskom R644 million.

“Only 30% of residents are actually billed for services, while 70% of residents who can afford it are not billed. This is financially unsustainable and needs urgent intervention.”

He said the mayor and municipal manager had admitted that they were aware of the theft, but little or nothing had been done about it.

“The city residents are angered by the lack of leadership and political will to address the serious challenges that are threatening to collapse our city.”

Jermain Joseph, an activist from Northdale, said the community was losing hope in the municipality.

“How do you expect people to go to the voting stations when the city cannot run itself properly. We are spending millions of rands sponsoring football teams and hosting New Year’s Eve parties rather than investing in our infrastructure.”

Joseph said there were roads that had been damaged in 2018 and were yet to be repaired.

“On Ballambraway, one of the busiest roads in Northdale, there are potholes. Cars have to go into oncoming traffic to avoid the pothole. This is a risk and life threatening because it could cause an accident.”

He said that on Bangalore Road, some businessmen in the area who were fed up with seeing the potholes had taken it upon themselves to fill the potholes with sand.

“Ninety percent of our street lights do not work. We have drug users stealing manhole covers to get the cast iron from it to sell to scrap metal dealers. Our water and electricity is intermittent. When we raise all these issues, the municipality says there is no budget but ratepayers are still paying their rates. The city is dysfunctional.”

Ravi Madhun, a community activist from Copeville, has put together a team of 20 volunteers from the area to help clean-up the area, do street patrols and help residents who were struggling with incorrect utility bills.

“Many of the residents living in the community are elderly pensioners and it is difficult for them to deal with these issues of service delivery. The complaints come to me and the team and we try to assist. We have logged calls or complaints of street lights not working, illegal dumping, blocked storm water drains, long verges and potholes.”

Madhun said the team, with some residents, cleaned up the bushes.

“Crime was also becoming a problem and petty theft was on the rise. We have started patrols and have reduced the number of robberies that have occurred. One of our biggest challenges is the incorrect billing. I have been to the municipality for answers on the incorrect billing, as my mother is also affected but they are not giving us answers.”

He said 90% of the community were living in poverty due to unemployment.

“People don’t have food in their homes. They cannot get jobs to pay their utility bills and the services are cut. This and the other service delivery issues are causing the community to decay. We need the help from the municipality to restore dignity to the area.”

The Msunduzi Municipality said its focus for the 2023/2024 financial year was the rehabilitation of infrastructure.

Siwelile Zimu, a manager at the municipality, said the municipality had rehabilitated 27 000 square meters of roads and did a total rehabilitation of Town Bush and King Edward road.

"We have been able to repair approximately 9500 street lights. We have also handed over houses in ward 29 and are currently constructing 2000 mixed income human settlements in Signal Hill ward 26 and projects in many other wards.

"Out of the number of human settlement projects being implemented I highlight this one as it is very aligned with our vision of moving low income households closer to economic opportunities."

Zimu said for the 2024/25 year, R824 011 million has been appropriated for the development of infrastructure which represents 10 per cent of the total budget.

"Electricity infrastructure receives the highest allocation of R 260 Million in 2024/25, which equates to 31% followed by road transport infrastructure at 14 per cent, R116 million, R100 million water infrastructure at 12%.

Zimu said the Mayor will have an engagement with the communities of the northern areas on May 4 at the Copesville Community Hall.

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