ETHEKWINI ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
MAYOR Kaunda acknowledged the frustration and inconvenience that the closure of beaches has caused the public and the business community. He was speaking at a joint briefing with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry of relevant stakeholder recently.
STATE OF MUNICIPAL BEACHES
The Municipality continues to test beach water regularly to ensure it is at acceptable standards. He said the Municipality is happy to announce that work to repair sanitation infrastructure is about to commence following the allocation of disaster relief funding from National Treasury for rehabilitation. ''While most welcome, this funding of R184 million is inadequate, we have reprioritised our budget to fast-track these much-needed repairs. The estimated cost of the repairs is R160 million for pump stations and over R300 million for Water Treatment Works,'' he said. Central beaches that are now open include the Bay of Plenty, Laguna, Country Club Beach, Battery, South Beach, Thekwini Beach, Addington, Point, uShaka, North Beach and Wedge Beach. In the south, Umgababa, Umkhomazi, Brighton, and Treasure beaches are now open.
CRIME AND GRIME
Like most cities in the world, eThekwini is not spared from homelessness. As a result, the Municipality, through the Safer Cities Unit has developed a progressive programme to rehabilitate the homeless who are also affected by several social ills. The Municipality's intervention seeks to curb, among other challenges, the unfortunate habit of destroying infrastructure with the intention of selling Municipal assets for survival. Communities were also encouraged to play their part because many homeless people come from our communities and the disruptions caused by vandalised infrastructure negatively affect the same communities.
KEEPING ETHEKWINI CLEAN
There have been concerns raised by the business community and residents about waste management. The Municipality has since introduced a targeted approach to tackle grime and filth, such as the deployment of dedicated teams in targeted areas who will be responsible for picking up litter and sweeping the streets in shifts. This is going to be complemented by area managers conducting inspections during their shifts to ensure a high standard of work. ''When we launched the Municipality's Spring Clean-up Campaign which was implemented during September, we wanted to bring together various Municipal departments with the aim of entrenching a sustainable and resilient cleansing strategy,'' said Mayor Kaunda.
WATER UPDATE
OThongathi was one of the worst hit areas during the April floods. Major water works and infrastructure were washed away and damaged. The community has been without a steady water supply for a long time. However, there is some good news on this front. Some parts of oThongathi have started receiving water from their taps after the completion of a tie-in on the Mamba Ridge Pipeline to the Hazelmere Waterworks Avondale Reservoir pipeline. The new connection directs two million litres of water a day from the Hazelmere Waterworks to some parts of oThongathi. The full repairs are expected to be completed by the end of October and by early November the Municipality should be able to commission the plant.
ROAD REHABILITATION
The total number of road rehabilitation projects recorded after the April and May floods was 2 371. The number of completed projects is 561. More communities can now enjoy improved access to public amenities such as schools and hospitals. In conclusion, Mayor Kaunda thanked the business sector and communities for working with the Municipality during the difficult time in the aftermath of the floods. ''We are in this together as we all want to see a safe and prosperous eThekwini,'' he said.
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