Residents of the Tinktinkie and McCarthy informal settlements in Kariega continue to endure harsh living conditions due to a severe lack of basic services such as sanitation, water access, road infrastructure, and lighting. Despite repeatedly raising these concerns with municipal authorities, residents claim that little to no action has been taken to improve their circumstances.
In Tinktinkie, over 150 people rely on just four newly installed toilets, with a single working tap serving the entire settlement. Meanwhile, McCarthy residents report that six families are forced to share a single portable toilet that is rarely serviced. Both communities also allege that poor road conditions have prevented emergency services vehicles from reaching critically ill residents. According to residents of both informal settlements, they have had to carry a deceased person to the entrance of the area to meet the undertakers.
Speaking to UD Express, FF Plus Caucus assistant, Marlon Booysen, stated, “This is unacceptable. We call upon the municipality to address these issues effectively. The lack of lights here is a real issue as children who are sent to the shop come back robbed or even worse.”
According to Filicia Lucas, a concerned resident of Tinktinkie who has lived in the area for more than a decade, other than the four newly installed toilets, there has been no development in the informal settlement. She claimed that residents were promised roads, yet none have been built. The only functioning tap is situated approximately 200 metres away, which is too far for elderly residents to walk. Those unable to fetch water are forced to pay a neighbour R50 per trip.
In a solo effort to support her community, Lucas collects second-hand clothes and shoes for children in need and sets aside part of her income to provide for seven children in dire need. “I told the officials that we don’t want houses anymore. We just want lights in our area, a tap closer to us, and accessible roads. The road situation is bad because when it rains, children cannot go to school due to mud. That is all,” Lucas concluded.
In McCarthy Informal Settlement, similar challenges persist. Aamina Rania, a concerned resident, highlighted the lack of service delivery and essential amenities such as electricity, water, and roads. She expressed frustration at the area not being prioritised for these services.
“Roads are important because there have been instances when ambulances couldn’t assist our residents, and we had to transport bodies ourselves, which is unacceptable,” she said.
Residents also highlighted the lack of police visibility, making the area dangerous. “Criminals don’t just rob us; they break into our homes. We can’t leave for long without returning to find our belongings missing,” the residents reported. They expressed fear, knowing who the perpetrators are but being too scared to report them.
Mongezi Phongwana, a senior citizen, recounted a failed relocation promise of newly built homes in Rosedale Road, Blikkiesdorp, which left him in a frustrating situation. His home is next to a leaking standpipe, leaving it damp even without rain.
With approximately 300 residents sharing two standpipes and one portable toilet for six homes, McCarthy residents describe their conditions as inhumane. Water shortages have also gone unaddressed, with no water trucks deployed during outages.
In response, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson, Sithembiso Soyaya, stated that formalisation plans, including communal toilets, taps, and electricity, will be in the 2025/26 business plan. Claims about road construction will also be considered then. Regarding access issues like the inability of emergency services vehicles to access settlements, Soyaya claimed that rudimentary roads are provided.
Soyaya also noted that standpipes are installed in a 200-metre radius, with municipal records showing 13 standpipes subjected to vandalism. He offered assurance that malfunctioning standpipes will be repaired upon residents reporting them.
Ward 48 (McCarthy area) Councillor Franay van der Linde says that she continually reports these issues to municipal officials, but receives no communication in return, despite having several reference numbers.
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