KARIEGA – Residents of Ward 45, Tiryville are alleging that they have not seen their Ward Councillor since their water outages began in February, let alone receive communication from his office regarding the reason for the outages.

According to a resident of Tiryville, Natasha Kirsten, the residents have been without water since February, causing them to question whether they are prioritised and recognised as residents of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality owing to the lack of service delivery they receive.

Speaking to UD Express, Kirsten said residents had been forced to dig holes around an existing water leak to collect water in order to wash clothes, clean their homes and, in some cases, survive daily life. She said some children were taking five-litre containers to school to fetch water for their families to use at home.

“We do not have water in any of our houses. We are digging holes just to fetch water to clean and wash clothes. Some of the children get water at school and bring it home so their parents can wash school uniforms,” she said.

Kirsten added that the situation posed serious health risks, especially for infants and young children. She alleged that children in the area had developed rashes and stomach illnesses due to poor sanitation and the lack of clean water.

We have babies drinking from bottles. You cannot use dirty water for that. We cannot wash ourselves with dirty water. It is not hygienic and it is not right.

Residents further alleged that municipal water tankers rarely serviced their section of Tiryville, with some claiming that fights had broken out at communal water points as desperate residents competed for water.

Kirsten claimed that the only consistent assistance residents had received came from humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers, which she said occasionally delivered water to the area.

Residents also raised concerns over what they described as a lack of communication and visibility from Ward Councillor, Sabelo Mabuda.

Kirsten alleged that despite several attempts to contact him telephonically and through messages, she had received little to no feedback regarding the ongoing outages. “He knows about the situation, but he does not come here to address us. We just want answers and communication. We are not fighting,” she said.

Another resident alleged that service delivery challenges in the area extended beyond water outages, claiming that residents had also experienced prolonged electricity outages, overflowing drains and exposed electrical infrastructure.

“The drains are overflowing and there are exposed electrical boxes in the streets where children play. We are scared someone will get hurt,” the resident said.

Residents further alleged that despite the prolonged lack of water, municipal officials continued reading water meters and issuing accounts to households. “How can they read meters when there is no water? People are still getting municipal bills while there is no service,” another resident claimed.

Speaking to UD Express, Ward 45 Councillor Sabelo Mabuda attributed the prolonged outage to “a water pipe that goes underground outside that particular location,” which he said had been damaged and required a contractor to repair.

While initially stating that the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) responsible for water and sanitation [Buyelwa Mafaya] “did come around,” he later clarified that no visit had yet occurred, saying, “We spoke with the MMC. She is awaiting the contract to be signed before we go there.”

The councillor further confirmed that no written communication or formal records existed between himself and municipal officials regarding the matter, stating, “We normally don’t write things down between me and officials. There are no emails, other than calls.”

When asked why residents alleged they had not seen or heard from him since the outages began, Mabuda said he did not want to visit the community without a contractor present.

If I don’t have a contractor, even if I go there, it’s just a talk show.

Despite claiming that residents were aware of the cause, interviewed residents said they had not received any explanation regarding the prolonged disruption.

Mabuda was also unable to provide a timeline for when water supply would be restored, repeatedly referring to delays in procurement processes and the appointment of a contractor. “We are working on getting one with the MMC,” he said, adding that “the procurement process goes a different way. It’s not like I just ask and things happen.”

Community members also questioned why nearby farms allegedly had access to water while their taps remained dry, with some suggesting that ageing infrastructure and undersized pipes may be contributing to the crisis.

Residents said they were now calling for urgent intervention from the municipality, improved communication from elected representatives and long-term infrastructure upgrades to restore reliable access to water in the area.

The NMBM was contacted for comment; however, no response had been received by the time of going to press on Wednesday morning.

Later on Wednesday, the NMBM released a statement highlighting their three-pronged approach to get water for Tiryville residents “before the end of this week”.

The statement read, “The Municipality is currently increasing water supply from the Nooitgedacht Water scheme while simultaneously operating the Kabah Water Treatment Plant at maximum capacity to augment water availability in the affected areas.”

It added, “The restoration of water supply in several other affected areas has significantly reduced pressure on emergency water relief measures. As a result, the Municipality is now able to deploy additional water tankers to Tiryville and surrounding communities to mitigate the impact of the outages while the system continues to recover.”

Additionally, NMBM Executive Mayor Babalwa Lobishe said that although the system had allegedly recovered to above 80 per cent, “we still have a few areas like Tiryville and a few high-lying areas in Kariega that are still affected.

“We are taking advantage of our integrated system and pushing the capacity of our plants to recover our reservoirs more quickly,” she claimed.

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