Water protests at Tugela Ferry cut off village
Residents without water for three years
TUGELA Ferry residents brought the town’s economic activity to a standstill when they blocked both entrances to the village and CBD with stones, trees and burning tyres yesterday.
Angry residents looted a truck carrying JoJo tanks, saying they had had no water for three years and no alternative arrangements had been made by the municipality.
Ward 4 resident Zama Chonco said the municipality was taking residents for granted.
“We don’t have tap water in the house, they only bring water tankers once in three months,” she said.
Chonco accused the tanker drivers of providing water selectively to residents.
“Those who are lucky will have water,” she said.
Chonco said this was not the first time they had protested about the disrupted water supply.
Another affected resident, who refused to be named, said they had not had a water supply in Msinga for several years.
“We called the district mayor on Monday and he said we must use water from the Tugela River because he’s busy in a meeting in Ulundi,” he said.
He said they had reported the problem to the municipality towards the end of last year, but the situation remained unchanged.
Ward 15 resident Nkosiyakhe Khanyile said some families fetched water from a nearby stream where cattle and goats also drank.
“We fetch water from a stream and we are concerned about our health because the water is not clean.
“Depending on water tankers has proved to be a waste of time as there are a lot of people who are omitted,” said Khanyile.
He said lack of service delivery had moved some community members to threaten to boycott the next local government elections in two years’ time.
Even schools in the area were disrupted due to the ongoing protest action.
Msinga Municipality spokesperson Tyson Kunene said the municipality had met the community to find a solution to the ongoing water problems.
“I consulted the drivers to check if they’re delivering water in the area and they confirmed that they were on their way,” said Kunene.
He said the strike had been resolved. Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, said the community of Msinga had blocked both entrances to the village and CBD with stones, trees and burning tyres.
“Public Order Police members were at the scene to monitor the situation,” said Zwane.