PROVINCIAL NEWS - The community of Hofmeyr has been through difficult times with water and power outages, making daily living a challenge. Another shock hit this town when, on 20 May, the electricity to households in Hofmeyr was switched off, with pensioners first in line. "The excuse from the Enoch Mgijima Municipality is that these households did not pay their taxes," says local representative of the Enoch Mgijima municipality, Councillor Buti Quqa.
A Hofmeyr resident says that the municipality has not issued any form of account in the last 16 years. "Even households who did pay a monthly installment for taxes were never sure what was still outstanding.
People who sold their houses, some of them more than two years ago, have up to date not been successful in finalising the final transfers of the properties, as there just seem to be no records of any outstanding amounts," says the disgruntled resident. According to this resident, the community has been begging Quqa to answer their questions regarding the water and electricity issues that have been ongoing for the last eight years.
These elements are killing our economy, any prospects of growth, and with it, the opportunities for our people in terms of job creation. When electrical problems occur in Hofmeyr, the community often has to either fetch the electrician in Tarkastad at their own cost or assist with petrol money for this person's transport to fix the outdated electrical wiring in town.
"But when the Enoch Mgijima Municipality came to Hofmeyr to cut off the electricity, three vehicles arrived from Tarkastad to assist with the cut-off," says a resident. Lindy Haggart, a self-employed councillor of the DA, assisted the community on 20 May with contact details of municipal staff, but to no avail, as calls were not answered. Quqa has promised assistance to the community.
Visit to 32 small towns in the Eastern Cape
In a separate and independent media release, Dr Vicky Knoetze MPL - DA EC Shadow MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, declared that constant water and electricity outages, crumbling roads, overflowing sewage, sky-high unemployment, a total lack of basic services, and rampant corruption due to cadre deployment have broken the Eastern Cape's once-thriving small towns. The state of utter collapse became clear after a recent tour of 32 small towns in 11 Eastern Cape municipalities.
"The purpose of the tour was two-fold: firstly, to engage with communities and key stakeholders regarding the challenges experienced in terms of governance and to discuss possible solutions, and secondly, to conduct oversight over critical infrastructure such as roads, water, sewerage, other municipal infrastructure, and basic service delivery," she stated.
The towns visited were Krakeel, Joubertina, Clarkson, Woodlands, Stormsriver, Coldstream, Somerset East, Pearston, Bedford, Adelaide, Chintsa West, Chintsa East, Hofmeyr, Molteno, Komani, Whittlesea, Stutterheim, Cathcart, Makhanda, Steynsburg, Venterstad, Burgersdorp, Oviston, Middelburg, Cradock, Willowmore, Steytlerville, Klipplaat, Jansenville, Kirkwood, Paterson and Addo.
She says that in the Eastern Cape, 16 of the 39 municipalities are in severe financial distress. Half of the district municipalities are under administration, and the municipal debt owed to Eskom has ballooned and is now standing at more than R3,5bn. "These elements are killing our economy, any prospects of growth, and with it, the opportunities for our people in terms of job creation," she said. An enquiry was sent to the Enoch Mgijima Municipality, addressed to Mayor Madoda Papiyana in Tarkastad, which falls under the Chris Hani District Municipality.
To date, no response has been received. Previous articles on the water crisis that can be read at www.graaffreinetadvertiser.com: I have voted since 1994 but I still have no running water Gemeenskap nog nooit lopende water gehad nie
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
