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Greytown Gazette
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GAZETTE Umvoti | Kranskop | New Hanover | Msinga Magisterial Districts 10 000 copies weekly| Est. 1903
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Greytown water woes continue ANDILE SITHOLE >>Andile.sithole@media24.com ALMOST one thousand residents from Gugulethu and Nhlalakahle in Greytown were forced to live without water for more than a week after water supply was interrupted. Some are resorting to buying bottled water to use to bath and flush the toilets. Residents in Gugulethu and Nhlalakahle, who wished to remain anonymous, critisised uMzinyathi District Municipality for failing to provide water to the community. A resident from Gugulethu said: “Water cuts started last Friday [November 13] up until now we still don’t have water. We were not even notified that there was going to be an interruption in the water supply. I am forced to buy a five-litre bottled water to use to bath and flush the toilets. The situation is dire in such a way that other residents who cannot afford to buy water have resorted to fetching water from the stream. “My son is writing his exams and when he needs to bath, he must walk from Gugulethu to my granny’s house in town. Other children are not even going to school because we do not have water,” he said. Another resident said the situation of the shortage of water supply is a disaster waiting to happen. “At this time of Covid-19 residents of this village do not have access to water. We can’t even use toilets and bath. The few litres of bottled water remaining is not going to last longer because I have children. I wish there was a solution to this problem because it affects us,” he said. uMzinyathi District Municipality is the water authority and service provider that supplies water to all wards under its jurisdiction. However, residents accused the district municipality of turning a blind eye to the water crisis. “Communication between uMzinyathi District Municipality and the residents is always poor. We are not even notified if there are technical problems within the reservoir. When we ask the municipality to give us feedback on the water shortages we are always fed with the same lies,” said the resident. Other residents complained about the theft of static water tanker taps in the area. uMvoti Local Municipality issued a statement last week and urged residents to report to 911 call centre. Spokesperson for uMzinyathi District Municipality Nomonde Nzimakwe said Gugulethu, Solomon Mzolo and the FET College fall under the Craigieburn Water project that still has not been finalised due to the community unrest in Mpofana. “To make sure that our community doesn’t lack in service delivery, the borehole scheme was [implemented] to address the water shortages in the meantime. Gugulethu and Solomon Mzolo Settlements fall under that borehole scheme, there was a water shortage last week from November 4 to the November 9 due to valves that needed to be changed and refurbished. The water
Kwid Expression
was restored on November 10. Water tankers were dispatched to assist during the outage.” Nzimakwe said on November 12, a local company was busy de-stumping trees and accidentally hit a 160 diameter pipe that runs for two to three kilometres and forms part of the line that supplies Nhlalakahle with water that caused a burst and affected the water supply to Nhlalakahle. “Water tankers were dispatched to assist during the outage. The Greytown team was in constant communication with the uMvoti leadership to update them on the progress. The pipe was repaired on the same day and all blockages were cleared, however further fittings needed to be done and that was done on November 16. We would like to caution customers that some might experience blockages on their meters. The sewage treatment plant is beyond capacity due to new developments but is fully functional, all necessary requirements are being met. The district municipality is in the process of updating the system and meeting the new demands timeously and efficiently. The old and aging infrastructure is a long standing issue that uMzinyathi District is in the process of addressing. We have already started replacing the old asbestos and cast iron pipe with UPVC pipes when there is a burst. To change all the underground infrastructure is a huge project that needs major funding, and it’s in the pipeline and falls under our long term infrastructure plans. A business plan has been submitted to DWS for approval and funding to undertake this project. “Public meetings have not been held since we were under lockdown, but the mayor will be embarking on a roadshow to address all service delivery issues and unpack the IDP and Budget for the district as is done on an annual basis.”To report water shortages call customer services on 0861 678 883 or 034 212 2222.
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House artist releases his album
Njabulo Ngubane releases his first album. Story on page 7. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
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