Africa-Press – South-Africa. Durban – Thousands of residents have been left without water in uMhlathuze after saboteurs damaged water infrastructure during a service delivery protest – over water.
The City of uMhlathuze said that the supply of water at eSikhaleni communities, near Richards Bay, and surrounding areas has been affected and tensions were running high after community members attacked municipal officials who were working to repair the damage.
The community went on the rampage after being left without water for a week.
Police were in the area and monitoring the situation.
According to the municipality and the police, the damage to water infrastructure was the of acts of sabotage and damage to municipal property were caused after the valves in the pipe system were locked and welded on to block the supply of water from Cubhu Late to Cemetery reservoirs.
“A group of community members attacked municipal officials who were working on the damaged site fixing the valves to restore the water supply, police had to intervene using teargas, and rubber bullets until the team of employees flee the site,” the city said in a statement.
“Upon moving out of the scene, municipal systems monitoring the supply of water indicated that there has been another damage in the same spot. This happens while the City of uMhlathuze Mayor Cllr Mduduzi Mhlongo was holding a meeting with a delegation from the protesting group to try to solicit amicable solutions to the community grievances”.
The municipality said late on Tuesday that the Madlankala route remained blocked and police were monitoring the situation, trying to restore calm and open road to allow safe movements as well as social services.
“We are aware of a series of challenges facing in the supply of water in this area and we have been working tirelessly to restore the supply through our systems.
“We are also confronted with a number of challenges ranging from a number of illegal connections, acts of sabotage in our infrastructure and as a result, we have opened cases with SAPS to investigate and instituted a forensic investigation to get to the bottom of the alleged sabotage.
“We are hoping that all these investigations will reveal who exactly has interfered with our infrastructure so that they are brought to our books,” Municipal Manager Lulamile Mapholoba said.
The city said it would continue to negotiate with the delegation until engagements reaches consensus of restoring the situation into normal before the mayor and his leadership collective formally engage with the affected communities.
Municipal spokesperson Mdu Ncalane said protesters allegedly shut the water valves using a gas welding machine.
“The SAPS must also help us and intervene in helping to establish who were the people responsible for switching off the valves. What we do know is that these were not ordinary members of the public.
“How would they know where the valves were and how to switch them off? We suspect there’s a third force at play,” said Ncalane.
On Monday, five people aged between 18 and 57 were arrested and appeared in the Esikhawini Magistrate’s Court.
They were charged with public violence after allegedly blockading roads in Empangeni during protests.
Ncalane said municipal technicians were going into the area with Public Order Police for their safety.
The city has also sent water tankers into the area.
Ncalane said that Mandlankala residents began the protest after being without water for about a week.
“We think they have gone and agitated other people, and have caused the protest to spill over in the whole town of eSikhaleni. We are facing a multi-pronged challenge that also includes illegal water connections that cause pipes to burst, water loss to the municipality as well as protests,” Ncalane said.
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