FOR years residents of Cuba Village in East London have been begging the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality to sort out its problems.
But nothing has been done to provide water and electricity or fix potholes.
Resident Asindisiwe Jobodwana painted a grim picture of life in Cuba, telling Daily Sun there were no schools and health facilities.
“Children as young as eight spend most of their time at the nearby dumping site scavenging for food,” said Asindisiwe.
She said community leaders had written to the municipality, but nothing had come of it.
Nondedwa Mqana (91), who lives in a one-roomed shack with her mentally-ill child Mzolisi (70), said she arrived in Cuba 30 years ago.
There’s no electricity, and they fetch water more than a kilometre away.
“We live like pigs. It would be nice to have my own place so I can have privacy,” he said.
“The Constitution says we all have rights, but in practice those are for a selected few.”
Municipal spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said electricity could only be considered once land issues had been resolved.
He said the place where Cuba is situated is an Eskom area of supply, but it requires permission from the municipality.
“This can be given once the land issues are resolved as we can’t give permission to provide power on land it doesn’t own.”
He redirected the school and health facilities issue to provincial government.
