UMLALAZI Mayor Queen Xulu has slammed people who destroy infrastructure which is meant to improve the lives of residents just for their political agenda.
She has urged the residents to safeguard the new construction project which is set to start from Monday, 9 October, in their area.
Xulu was speaking during the King Cetshwayo District Municipality's water and sanitation sod turning event that was held at the Ncekwane Sport Field on Thursday, 5 October.
The project aims to upgrade the Ekuphumuleni water purification plant that will see it supplying water to two wards under Umlalazi after its completion. There will also be a sanitation project that will build 526 toilets in both wards.
Xulu voiced her concern about the damaging of infrastructure as this municipality has recently witnessed the pouring of poisonous substances in the water storage plant, which left more than five wards with no water.
“This is yours and please guard it so that we can move to another project. If you damage what we've already provided, you then force us to hold back on other projects,” she said.
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She said the district mayor, Thami Ntuli, is working very hard to fast-track and fix water problems that he found in the district office when he took over in 2021.
“Damaging the infrastructure is equal to demotivating him and looking down on all the effort he is doing to ensure you have water running in your taps every day,” she said.
One of the residents, Thabisile Dlomo (32), who is one of the beneficiaries of the toilet said they are happy that at last they'll also be getting proper toilets like people in other wards.
Another resident, Mandla Mkhize (56), said: “After we were left out of the projects that built toilets for other areas, we had no other options but to build pit toilets ourselves. Those households that couldn’t afford had to share with those who could afford or use bushes when nature calls,” he said.
Mayor Ntuli said they have set aside R10 million for the projects and the contractors should be starting the project on Monday.
“Our role is to change people’s lives not through political campaigns or endless talking, but through actions just like we're doing today,” said Ntuli.
