DURBAN - A man was shot in the leg after protests over the continuous interruption of water supply to homes in the Ugu District Municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast turned chaotic.
Premier Sihle Zikalala was expected to lead a district-wide citizenry and stakeholder engagement session on Tuesday to outline a plan of action that seeks to address the persistent water crisis in Ugu, which he said, was crippling the tourism sector and threatening livelihoods.
Ugu district consists of 81 municipal wards which comprise of local municipalities, namely Ray Nkonyeni, Umzumbe, Umdoni and Umuziwabantu.
On Monday the Umzinto CBD was shut down. Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said about 150 people blockaded the entrances to Umzinto with burning tyres.
Gwala said police would monitor the area until the situation stabilises.
“One of the community members was shot on the leg and sustained injuries. Police are still searching for the suspect involved.”
Zikalala’s visit is expected to create a platform for stakeholders representing their constituencies to frankly reflect on the water crisis to delve deeper into the causes and oversee the implementation of the water turnaround plan for Ugu.
He is expected to speak with traditional leadership, business and community stakeholders in joint plenary discussions.
In a WhatsApp message circulating, the residents of Mistake Farm, Isonti, Ghandinagar, Hazelwood, Nkonkas, Roseville and Sanathan stated that the purpose of the protest was to get water supply restored to their taps.
The message said a delegation of community leaders from all areas met with the Ugu Municipality management to hand over a memorandum with suggestions from stakeholders, who have possible solutions “to the inhumane situation we are facing”.
Umdoni Municipality PR councillor Roy Bhoola said some areas surrounding the Umzinto CBD have gone a week or more without a water supply. Bhoola, who is also a former councillor, said the Ugu management needed to understand the technical challenges related to the supply of water.
He said he hired a private consultant to investigate and identify the bottlenecks in the pipe network, adding that his submissions were not followed, and blamed wasteful expenditure for the problem still existing.
Bhoola said the shutdown affected schools, businesses and those coming to the clinics for medical treatment.
Ray Nkonyeni Municipality councillor Leon Garbade said a team of councillors conducted an oversight visit at St Helen’s Rock abstraction point, as well as the holding dam and the water treatment works recently.
The team allegedly found pumps missing or broken and the entire system reliant on two pumps that are not running optimally. Garbade said they found a leak that caused water to flow back and not into the pipes to the works.
The Ugu Municipality said they would respond to the Daily News once all facts surrounding the issue are gathered.
The Umzinto Community Watch stated that they were patrolling the area to ensure the safety of the town as well as community members.
The watch said in a statement that there was a tactical team that was sent to Umzinto from Port Shepstone. The statement said during a patrol, some community members threw rocks and glass bottles at the tactical team, and the team reacted.
“None of the watch members from Umzinto were involved, nor did any member of the watch open fire at anyone.”
Daily News