UPDATE: All quiet in eShowe – for now
On Friday messages were circulated that KwaKhoza and Dlangubo communities were to join the King DinuZulu community and blockade the town
DESPITE a threat of another total shutdown of eShowe by protesters on Saturday, business continued as usual.
On Friday messages were circulated that KwaKhoza and Dlangubo communities were to join the King DinuZulu community and blockade the town.
The KwaKhoza community cited the lack of water as the reason for their protest action. Meanwhile the King DinuZulu community is waiting for Wednesday to see if the new contractor will be on site for work on unfinished roadworks to begin on Friday.
This promise was made by the MEC for Safety, Security and Transport on Wednesday, but residents remain skeptical. Questions are being asked as to what procedure has been followed to appoint the new contractor.
They feel the municipality has flouted procurement procedures.
Official response
A written report by Mayor Thelumoya Zulu handed to the eShowe branch of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry last Wednesday, claimed all issues have now been resolved.
At the meeting the mayor said the community demanded the contractor be removed and despite having to face possible legal action for breaking the terms of the contract, the contractor was dismissed.
The mayor says the road will now be completed by the end of May, with the new contractor starting work this week.
Other concerns addressed included the upgrade of the King DinuZulu hall, reportedly at the evaluation committee stage, the formalisation of the KwaMtakwende community which is being done and the King DinuZulu gymnasium which will be repaired this financial year.
The mayor confirmed that the KwaNsumpa building does belong to the municipality and a meeting with stakeholders would be convened to discuss the building.
The KDS sports park, which was removed from the Infratructure Development Plan (IDP), has been put back on the IDP and is scheduled for the 2018/19 financial year in a phased approach.
The municipality will consult with the Department of Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) around the issue of loss of electricity when the suburb was subjected to a power outage.
The community are demanding a blanket 50 electrical units per household as compensation. No response has yet been received to a letter in this regard which was sent to Cogta on 22 March.
Community ‘not playing game’
Countering claims by the community that the mayor was ignoring them, Zulu said the community has also not always spoken the truth. Various meetings have been held.
One such meeting was held with the ‘Rapid Response Team’ (RRT) on Sunday, 12 March. This marathon meeting of more than 10 hours ended at 11.50pm with only the road issue still unresolved.
This issue was to be discussed the next day at 3pm before a public meeting, but RRT did not arrive and the municipality proceeded to the community meeting. At this meeting the RRT disassociated themselves from everything that was agreed the previous day.
Tempers flared and the municipal officials left, finding roads blockaded. Stones were thrown at the officials and a few gunshots were heard.
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