Town battles service and crime
This is the first part of a weekly feature on service delivery concerns in parts of KZN
SHAKASKRAAL on the North Coast is a town with a proud history, heritage buildings and a close knit community, that’s losing its sparkle due to poor service delivery.
Bulelwa Mvulana is a community activist in Shakaskraal trying to help residents who are trying to regain the town’s past glory.
During a drive-through of the area recently, she said Shakaskraal was rich in culture and history.
“Shakaskraal is one of the oldest towns in the area. It was known as a little town that serviced the surrounding farming communities. There are many historical buildings, especially the places of worship. It is traditionally an Indian town but as time went by, it has become rather diverse,” said Mvulana.
There’s the Shakaskraal Shree Emperumal Temple on Oaklands Road. It was founded in 1926 by Indian indentured labourers, who worked for the Shakaskraal sugar mill. St Anne’s Parish is also located in the town. It was built by Charles de Charmoy in 1949 and is believed to have been used by Mauritian Catholics when it was built.
In the town centre is the Shakaskraal Musjid, which was established in 1960 and is regarded a key landmark for its dome towers.
Near the mosque is Manga’s Supermarket, the oldest supermarket there. It is run by Ismail Manga, a third-generation owner. The shop initially sold bread, milk, fruit and vegetables but now it also stocks household essentials.
KwaDukuza Tourism calls the town – which is 2.1 square kilometers – a onestreet wonder. It was part of the Royal Military homestead of King Shaka and called KwaHlomendlini. But in recent years there has been a deterioration of infrastructure and a growing crime problem, says Mvulana.
There are non-functioning street lights and potholes.
“These are a big problem, especially on Rosehill and on some of the roads in Mellowwood,” said Mvulana.
“A number of the street lights have not worked for years. Some of those that do work are switched on during the day and are off at night. There seems to be a problem with the timer and this contributes to crime.”
She said due to the lack of police visibility, residents were scared to walk out at night. “House break-ins are also a problem. I have reported my concerns to the municipality. They subsequently set up an electric forum that deals with the backlogs of non-functioning street lights and other electricity related issues affecting the community. It seems the problem extends beyond Shakaskraal and to most of the 30 wards in the KwaDukuza Municipality.
"We were told the street lights could not be sorted out due to the shortage of material and that contractors needed to be appointed. Apparently, there is a shortage of skilled staff within the municipality to carry out the work effectively and timeously.”
Mvulana said regardless of these challenges, members from the forum met every Monday to discuss service delivery. This included potholes being filled.
She said while their service delivery concerns may not be as extensive as other areas, the municipality had an obligation to ensure the problems were dealt with.
Her other concern were the filthy roads for which she blamed some locals.
“If the bin truck comes to pick up our dirt on a Tuesday, some residents put their new dirt onto the road by Friday. The garbage remains there for the dogs to have a field day. I think I need to run an awareness campaign to discourage this form of littering.”
Abandoned property
Ellama Muthusamy, who has called Shakaskraal home for 30 years, is unhappy about a nearby abandoned property.
“The land has been vacant since the owner passed on some time ago. Now it has become a home for vagrants or a hiding spot for criminals,” said the 73-year-old, who resides in Millview Way.
She lives with her sister, Kistamah Padayche, who is a year older than her. They are both widowed. Muthusamy does not have children, while Padayche has a daughter, who lives in Johannesburg.
Muthusamy said 30 years ago the area was underdeveloped but life there was good.
“There were hardly shops or houses. I used to go into town to buy bread and milk at Manga’s. Back then we enjoyed packing sandwiches to go to the beach in Ballito. At a later stage, we used to cook at the beach during our outings. We walked on the streets and left our doors unlocked. Now I am fearful of going out.”
She said there had been several break-ins at their home. The first incident happened while she and her family were on holiday.
“The robbers jumped over the wall, broke one of the bedroom windows, and removed the burglar guards. They emptied the home. My elderly mother was living with me at the time. The police investigated but there were no arrests. One of the officers told me to raise the boundary wall.”
Muthusamy, who was a retired factory worker at the time, said she used her provident fund money to pay for the construction and had razorwire installed to deter criminals. This, she said, was still not enough.
“After a few years, while out shopping in Ballito, burglars broke my kitchen window. They took all my groceries and electrical appliances.
“During the third incident in January, I replaced the copper pipes that were stolen with plastic and removed the geyser from the outside in case it was also stolen. With crime being so high, I would really like the municipality to clear out that abandoned property.”
Seen change
Sharika Dhani, 45, moved to Shakaskraal 25 years ago and since then, she said there had not been a housing development.
“The last project was done by the House of Delegates,” said Dhani referring to the apartheid era parliament for Indians.
“There is a list of people, especially old folk and the unemployed, who need housing and access to water and electricity. The Mellowwood housing project was passed in 2011. The land was allocated and construction could start. But there have been constant delays.”
She said other than a few non-functioning street lights and potholes on the R102 that led to Shakaskraal, service delivery had improved since 2016.
Dhani attributed this to residents forming a WhatsApp group, where problems were dealt with by the councillor.
She said Shakaskraal was a little town with a close-knit community.
“I am reminded of this following the riots last year. People united to help communities with food parcels.”
The municipality did not respond by the time of publication.