Hardline urged in Ugu crisis
KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Willies Mchunu has been urged to instruct the Ugu district municipality management to take a hardline with striking workers who are allegedly tampering with infrastructure, leaving residents without water.
The situation has become so dire that the municipality has asked for a declaration of a disaster in the area.
Mchunu was in the South Coast district municipality yesterday to meet the public, business, traditional leaders and other stakeholders over another round of water cuts caused by labour disputes.
Mchunu reported back on his meetings with both the workers and the municipality on Wednesday, where he was given conflicting reports.
He said workers denied being on strike, claiming they were locked out of work by the municipality. They also denied vandalising water delivery infrastructure.
The municipality maintained that workers were on an illegal, unprotected strike, demanding that the money docked from their salaries for not being at work during a previous strike be paid back.
Local chief Inkosi Sazi Ndwalane questioned why the municipality was allowing workers to hold it to ransom. “There are laws which govern municipalities, there are laws which govern the employer-employee relationship, there are laws which govern the country. Why doesn’t the municipality use these laws? Why are they not taking a hard stance with workers when they have the law on their side?”
Ndwalane told the premier that if the municipal management did not take a stand, they should be charged for not doing their duties.
“People cannot continue to suffer because workers are fighting their own battles at our expense. They are putting money first and not people. That cannot be allowed. If the municipality does not take a stand this time, it will be brought to its knees,” Ndwalane added.
Local cleric Phillip Pandohe said he and his family of seven had not had water for 10 days at his Ramsgate home.
“The municipality put in a 5 000-litre JoJo tank for about 1 000 people in my area. That means each person gets 5 litres. What can we do with that when we have children who bath for school, cooking, drinking and washing? I’m wearing a tracksuit to an important meeting because I have not been able to wash my clothes,” he said.
While Pandohe complained about his bill never showing a decrease, even when they went days and at times weeks without water, Lorraine van Deventer said she hardly received one. Van Deventer, who offers self-catering holiday accommodation in Anerley, Port Shepstone, said in the offchance that she did receive a bill, it was so convoluted she had no way of knowing how much water she had used.
“I’ve had guests cancelling their stay and those who are here are using rainwater from a tank on the property. I’ve lost thousands because of this water crisis,” she said.
Also at the meeting were Human Settlements and Public Works MEC Ravi Pillay, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube and Transport and Community Safety and Liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda.
After the stakeholder meeting, they went to a meeting with the workers at the SA Municipal Workers Union in an effort to end the stalemate.
Once the floor was open for comment from the public, several councillors raised their hands, but Mchunu said the platform was not for them but the public.
However, Rishigen Viranna, a DA member of the provincial legislature and Ugu constituency head, said the public had not had ample notice of the meeting, so sent their questions via their councillors.
Mchunu stood his ground saying councillors, as part of government, should not take up the time of the public and other stakeholders who do not have access to him.
Viranna and a few other DA councillors walked out of the meeting.