Tinkhundla still in ruins 1yr after unrest
PIGG’S PEAK – “If the tinkhundla centres were necessary, the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development would have fixed the structures damaged during the June/July unrest in 2021.”
In 2021, a political unrest left many structures, including tinkhundla centres, damaged. The affected centres, especially in northern Hhohho, include the Ndzingeni, Timphisini and Mayiwane tinkhundla, also known as constituency centres.
Despite nearly 12 months lapsing since the unrest, government has not made means to fix the centres. This has left some members of the public asking whether the centres were really necessary. “If they were necessary, government would have long fixed them by now,” said some of the residents of Ndzingeni. The constituency centre in Ndzingeni also has a house that was occupied by an assistant. However, it was also destroyed in the fire that was started by unknown people.
On Saturday, when the centre was visited, it was deserted and only ruins remained. The guard house was also torched and it is no longer in use. In the past, the centre was used for community activities, as well as meetings by the various bucopho, indvuna yenkhundla and also the Member of Parliament (MP).
Fire
Another one that was also set alight in the northern Hhohho is the Timphisini Inkhundla Centre. It was burnt from the back and the fire spread throughout the structure.
It would seem even the lawn around the centre is no longer being taken care of.
The grass and vegetation is overgrown and it appeared that the premises have not been used for several months.
Nelson Mamba, who is the Timphisini MP when sought for comment yesterday, said they had not been able to use the centre. “We gather under a tree,” said the MP. He said they were able to gather when necessary, but they did this under a tree.
Mamba also said the grass was overgrown because the grass cutter that was usually used got burnt inside the structure. He said it was destroyed in the fire. He said in the past, it was cheaper to use the grass cutter, as all they needed to do was purchase fuel. However, he said without the machine, hiring someone was very costly for the inkhundla as it had to foot the bill. Mamba said with the recruitment of soldiers looming, they would also have to cut the grass for the exercise. He said this should be done this week.
Furthermore, Mamba also said he was confident government would eventually fix the damaged centres. He said the delay could be as a result of lack of funds. Another constituency centre that was set alight was the Mayiwane Inkhundla Centre, near Buhleni Town. The MP Gcina ‘Shebeleza’ Dlamini, could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, in Nhlangano Town, the Library and the regional health offices were set alight while some tinkhundla centres, including Ngudzeni, Hosea, KuMethula, Ngwempisi, Somntongo Ntondozi, Sandleni, Matsanjeni and Maseyisini (vandaliased), Ntfonjeni were also not spared.
Kwaluseni Inkhundla also added to the list a while later as it was set alight on April 2. The structures which were used by the general public have not been reconstructed or refurbished since then, rendering the public in the dilemma when they need to use them.
In Nhlangano, people remain without a national library and cannot do any research. Learners who may need to do further research for their studies have nowhere to go to date.
One of the learners from Nhlangano Central High School said the burning of the library somehow affected their education, as they were often given assignments that required extensive research but because there was no library they could not do their research work.
The learner said at the library, they had access to books and internet, which was what they needed for their assignments. The learner said it was a pity that it had taken almost a year to rebuild the library.
When sought for comment, Nhlangano Town Clerk, Babsy Mavuso, said they were cognisant of the two structures that were set alight within the town premises. He said they were currently having consultative meetings with government to reconstruct the structures which were ruining the image of the town. Mavuso said there were plans in the pipeline to fix the structures.
Moreover, sources close to the town council said there were plans to relocate the library from where it was to another place, as the town council was improving its development plans for the town.
Meanwhile, community members where the structures were set alight lamented on the shortage of structures to convene meetings. The residents said they often held meetings under trees or in certain structures.
Ndzingeni Member of Parliament (MP) Lutfo Dlamini said they were having a very hard time because his inkhundla was the first one to be set alight and it was burnt beyond repairs. He lamented that all the inkhundla documents were burnt. He said they were currently holding their meetings at one community hall in Pigg’s Peak.
Meetings
Ngudzeni Indvuna Yenkhundla, Raymond Ngcamphalala, said they were currently having their meetings under a tree. He said the situation was tense to the point that even if they wanted to invite people, they failed to do so because they did not have a place to accommodate them. Ngcampalala said even the inkhundla council often failed to meet as some members often did not come, instead they complained about where they were to meet.
Sithobela Indvuna Yenkhundla Joel Mamba said his inkhundla was not that damaged, as only windows and some book shelves were affected. He said as
inkhundla council, they fixed some of the damaged things on their own. He said they were just hoping government would come through, as they still needed to repaint the walls that remained black due to the soot.
Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development David Ngcamphalala said he was aware of the situation faced by those in the tinkhundla centres that were affected by the unrest.
He said government was working on reconstructing or refurbishing those structures. He said government had set aside a budget for that work and Micro Projects had been engaged to be the one who would work on the damaged
tinkhundla.