10 April 2024
KwaNobuhle residents wait in pouring rain to collect water at the only working communal tap in the area. Photo: Thamsanqa Mbovane
Households in parts of KwaNobuhle in Kariega and Despatch have been forced to live without electricity and limited running water since Saturday.
On Tuesday afternoon Nomasilindi Makambi was queuing in pouring rain with her three-month-old baby to collect water from the only working communal tap in phase 2 of Area 11 informal settlement in KwaNobuhle. This tap is shared by more than 300 families.
“There is no word [from the municipality] as to why we are plunged into darkness and made to be dirty and thirsty for four days,” she said. She said she had to come out with her baby in the rain as soon as heard that there was water at the communal tap for the first time in days.
Before that she had to pay someone from another part of the settlement R40 for a 20 litre bucket of water.
Other residents GroundUp spoke to on Tuesday said they have had to throw away food because their fridges are off. People in nearby formal houses say their toilets smell because there’s no water to flush.
Ziselwa Feni had a trolley with buckets to collect water. “We can’t cook, make coffee or put on a heater because there is no water and no electricity.”
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, in a statement on Tuesday, confirmed that “KwaNobuhle and surrounding areas” were affected by power outages due to tripping of circuit breakers.
The municipality said that repairs would be done soon.
Power was restored in parts of ward 46 and 47 in Kariega last night. But on Wednesday morning, parts of KwaNobuhle were still without running water.