Briardene residents feel short changed by budget
Briardene residents say the budget proposed by the city makes no provisions for their plight and lack of service delivery.
AT a recent budget hearing held in Greenwood Park, residents of Briardene Informal Settlement questioned why the proposed budget for Ward 36 made no provisions for them in terms of basic service delivery. Lebo Maieane, who lives in Briardene, has lived in an RDP house all her life, and says the settlement faces a struggle on a daily basis for the basic amenities.
Last week her house flooded with raw sewage, an all too familiar occurrence for the local resident.
“It’s awful, we can’t use toilets in the area and there is nothing being done, we often have burst sewage pipes and I’m directly affected by the waste flowing into the house. I went to the budget hearing hoping to see some sort of change for Briardene, but I got my answer when I saw the printouts with the allocations for the wards.
“In the past and certainly now, everything in the budget is allocated to do Durban North. We are part of Ward 36 but only in demarcation, no one really helps. It makes us feel like we are outcasts. We could have several meetings about service delivery but in the end, nothing will change for us. The city promises change but there is none forthcoming,” she said.
Another resident, Bruce Zondi, said one of the massive issues is the road leading to the RDP houses has been washed away but has never been replaced.
“As you drive up Krishna Road, you notice the ruts and potholes. Part of the road has been swallowed by the shifting sand. The stormwater pipes are continually overflowing and of course we would all like to see change for the area. I thought my house was bad when it rained but I’ve seen how much worse it can get for other residents who have to use buckets to drain their homes. Nothing is being done for Briardene,” Zondi said.
