Dozens of business owners led by members of the MK party marched through Vyheid’s city centre on Thursday to demand better services.
On Thursday, dozens of business owners led by members of the MK party marched through the streets of Vyheid’s city centre to demand better services.
They accuse the IFP-led Abaqulusi local Municipality of failing in its duties to provide adequate sanitation and waste services, consistent electricity, maintain the roads and other infrastructure.
They demand that the municipality urgently reduce electricity tariffs, make rates more affordable to citizens, improve access to clean water, maintain roads and provide refuse bags consistently.
Fast food store owner Chantel Bothman, who joined the march on Thursday, said she struggles to make a profit each month due to rising municipal bills. Her business supports ten families which will all suffer if she is forced to close down, she said.
For years Bothman’s monthly municipal bill would be about R15,000 but in August this year it nearly doubled to R32,000. She said despite paying R17,000 last week, the municipality sent her another bill on Tuesday, claiming she still owes R39,000.
In September, she used gas instead of an industrial oven, hoping it would decrease their bill. She also drilled a borehole to access clean water, but then the municipality billed her for drilling on their land, she said.
Chantel Bothman showed GroundUp how the front of her business is often littered with uncollected waste. There is only one street bin which caters for about ten businesses on that street.
“We pay for waste management service delivery, but I spend R220 to hire people to remove waste dumped near my business yard,” Bothman said.
Abaqulusi Mayor Sfiso Mkhwanazi told GroundUp, “If we decrease the bills, how are we going to pay our Eskom bill and render community service delivery?”
As business owners and MK members marched, they were met by a crowd of IFP supporters who came out in a show of support for the mayor.
MK Chairperson in Abaqulusi Themba Mazibuko said, “Everytime we march in Abaqulusi someone is killed, but now we are ready to die like apartheid era fighters.”
IFP district chairperson, and controversial ZuluLand mayor Mkhonyovu Khumalo also addressed the crowd and said they came to protect their town from being torched by protesters.
Khumalo blamed the water outages on the town being “geographically dry” and on steep grounds which made building water infrastructure challenging. “We bought 62 water tankers while a multi-million rand water project — Jozini Dam to Mandlakazi Water Treatment Plant – is under construction.”
On complaints about potholes, Mkhwanzi said the municipality will make its own asphalt mixture to fast-track pothole repairs ahead of the busy December holidays.
About 100 IFP supports came out in a counter protest to show support for the mayor and IFP-led Abaqulusi local Municipality.
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