Durban - Acting Ugu municipal manager Sbusiso Sithole says “well organised” acts of vandalism have caused millions of rand in damage to the town’s infrastructure and tarnished its image as a tourist destination.
In a telephonic interview with The Mercury yesterday, Sithole said the municipality had been grappling with the issue of the vandalism of its infrastructure for the past six years.
Just last week, the municipality said the Umzinto waste water pump station and another line that feeds water supply to Gamalakhe and parts of Shelly Beach were vandalised.
Sithole said the municipality was caught between criminals who appeared hell-bent on destruction, and irate residents who had been frustrated due to being left without water for days on end due to the acts of vandalism.
While the municipality had opened cases in connection with thevandalism, no arrests had yet been made.
“The amount of money we are spending on fixing the infrastructure that has been vandalised is roughly the same amount that we could be using to extend the life of that infrastructure. We estimate we have spent about R100m over the past few years,” said Sithole.
He said the damage was extensive and that it tarnished the image of the municipality and damaged its economic prospects.
“This region depends on tourism. If there is no water, the tourists get affected, tourism businesses lose money and people lose their jobs.
“It is also damaging to relations with the community. For instance, if these people closed valves, that means water is no longer available to the second point and residents are left without water, ” said Sithole.
He said there had been many theories regarding who was behind the vandalism, including that it was disgruntled workers or business owners who were trying to ensure a steady supply of work, but there was no evidence to support these suggestions.
“This has been going on since 2014, so I would not want to speculate that it might be workers who were dismissed. There have also been allegations that it might be contractors who are looking to survive by creating a crisis for us.
“While vandalism happens everywhere, the intensity of it is quite shocking here. Looking at the history of it, we have seen that it intensifies especially when heading towards the festive season. It is quite clear that it is well organised.
“What is of concern to me is why there has not been a single prosecution or an arrest despite all these incidents of vandalism. That is the question that should be asked, the police need to assist us in bringing those responsible to book,” he said.
Parties in the council said they believed that the sabotage was linked to political actions within the ruling party in the municipality.
“Over the past few months we have noticed a consistent campaign that has intensified recently. It's clear that factions are fighting in the party and in the municipality,” said IFP councillor Sfundo Ngwane.
“We have petitioned the national minister to move all the services that it (Ugu) provides to the local municipality, and thereafter the entities could be reviewed, salaries for officials and councillors cut and its purpose and future function would be based on the services it would still be providing,” said Ngwane.
DA councillor Leonard Ngcobo said there were patterns in the destruction of infrastructure.
“It is clear that part of the problem is the factions within the municipality. Due to cadre deployment, there are deep divisions,” he said.
However Xolani Luthuli, the ANC regional co-ordinator in the lower South Coast region, said the claims by the opposition parties were unfounded.
“No one has been accused of being behind this so we do not know where they are getting this from. The ANC does not condone any of this and we call on law enforcement to take harsh action against those involved,” he said.
Mercury