An indictment of local government

FIVE years ago, statistician-general Pali Lehohla named Port Elizabeth’s Silvertown the worst place to live in South Africa.

This was based on the results of the 2011 census which found that the living conditions in the area were inhumane.

Among the findings were that the area was home to almost 2 000 people living in 500 informal dwellings, at least 96% of them were using bucket toilets and more than half the adults were unemployed.

Lehohla concluded the area in Kwazakhele was one of the few in the country which had not changed since 1994.

Five years later, it appears not much has changed.

Our team of reporters visited the area this week.

Most disturbing was a steady stream of sewage from a pipe that burst two months ago.

The stench of human waste was unbearable and so was that of a government that had over the years failed its most vulnerable people.

According to residents, the contractor tasked with fixing the sewage pipe abandoned the job after being robbed three times.

Indeed, the robbery is unacceptable, and both law enforcers and the community must take the necessary steps to prevent such crime.

However, it can never be acceptable that the municipality has since thrown its hands in the air and left the community in this mess as it appears.

While it is understood that building houses and installing bulk infrastructure may take some time, this does not excuse the metro from its responsibility to find short-term solutions to what is essentially a public health crisis.

When asked, ward councillor Gamalihleli Maqula admitted to being aware of the problem, but believed it was being dealt with by the metro.

His response is perhaps the very definition of the incompetence our communities are often subjected to.

That this matter has been left to fester for this long is a shameful indictment on how the metro has treated its poorest.