New Germany residents voice grievances
The New Germany residents were given an opportunity to address municipal officials about the complaints they have regarding service delivery.
CONTINUOUS pipe bursts and aging and unrepaired infrastructure are among the issues that led to the New Germany Ratepayers’ Association inviting municipal officials to address the community on Sunday afternoon.
New Germany resident and the committee’s public relations officer, Dave Dougans, said that, in the past year, they have been a bridge between the community and the municipality.
He said that, in terms of the Batho Pele principle, the municipality is supposed to engage the community on a regular basis, but this is not happening.
Also read: Families relive traumatic experiences in the floods
“There are so many issues that need the City’s attention. We have water and sanitation issues, our roads are filled with potholes, streetlights are not working, sewage flows into streams and rivers, there is incorrect billing and so much more.”
According to Dougans, there are many frustrating unnecessary delays.
“We feel there is a disconnect within the municipal departments – one department can respond quickly to a complaint and then residents wait for months for another department to finish the repairs.”
He used an example of the pipe bursts. “It has happened on many instances after a pipe is fixed that the rubble sits on the side of the road for months or the road is not resurfaced.
“In this area, the residents are made to relive the horrifying flood experiences as some of the infrastructure has not been repaired,” he said.
One of the people affected by the floods, Sonke Mdluli, was forced to move from his home which he had lived in for three years as it is on the verge of collapsing and there is no proper sanitation.
What’s worse, the sewer pipe that was running into his yard has still not been fixed, as well as the manholes.
“All pipes that connect to the sewer pipes are not connected, hence my family and I cannot live in this house.”
Speaking to the Highway Mail, the frustrated and desperate resident said he bought a house in New Germany to have a better life for himself and his family.
“Buying a house here was convenient for me as it is central. Next year, my child is supposed to start high school here in Pinetown, and we need to move back to our home.
“After the second flood in 2023, we moved out of our home as the sewer line was not fixed properly. They made a temporary structure after the 2021 floods, so the second flood worsened the problem and caused more damage. The smell there is terrible.”
He said there are four other families that were affected in Janine Road. “Those families are using portable toilets as there is no proper sewer line.”
Mdluli said his biggest concern was the danger of his three-bedroom house with a double garage collapsing.
What’s more, he will still be required to pay full rates.
“Should that happen, who will be held responsible? The insurance refused to pay as they say this was caused by municipal negligence. I do not know what steps to take now. Almost every department has come to assess the damage, but we have not received a single feedback,” he said with a sigh.
The eThekwini Municipality responded to the Highway Mail and asked for Mdluli’s reference number for the concerned unit in order to follow up on the fault.
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