With disaster relief supplies running low and stormwater drain maintenance progressing slowly, some Nelson Mandela Bay ward councillors feel they are left to address residents’ complaints with minimal support from the municipality.
Some have taken a proactive stance and devised strategies to mitigate the effect of heavy rains in their areas.
The supply shortage was revealed by acting city manager Mandla George on Friday during a council meeting when the metro was accused of inefficiently responding to flood victims.
Ward 48 councillor Franay van de Linde said Kariega residents were concerned about the possibility of the canal overflowing due to relentless rainfall this week.
“We have been watching the canal because it is one of the causes of flooding when it overflows.
“The municipality only started cleaning the drains [on Tuesday] and they are moving slowly, which is my greatest concern.
“The last information I received was that work to remove debris from the June floods was yet to commence, which is concerning especially for those who live in the Central area.”
Van de Linde said platforms used to report stormwater blockages and water leaks were ineffective.
“There is a number we were told to report issues to but when you call the operator is not available and this makes it difficult to resolve issues,” she said.
“If you don’t have relationships with some officials you will struggle to get matters responded to on time.”
Ward 19 councillor Gamalihleli Maqula said the metro ignored all their suggestions to help people.
“After the municipality failed to act adequately during the recent flooding, councillors have no choice but to take ownership of issues in wards,” Maqula said.
“We know where issues are and what needs to be done to prevent flooding.
“But the municipality does not have a co-ordinated strategy for what needs to be done.
“This created the chaos.
“There’s no central point to report issues, officials don’t respond to calls which leaves us exposed because we don’t have the necessary machinery to unblock drains.
“But we know that if the city were to implement our suggestions, the effects of the flood would be minimised.”
Maqula said if it flooded again, the municipality would struggle to provide blankets and mattresses.
“This shows you how unprepared our disaster management is.”
Ward 55 councillor Thanduxolo Doda said the city ignored his call for the Zinakile Street pipeline to be extended which had been a problem for years.
“I have suggested the entire line be redesigned so that it accommodates new areas but that has not happened.
“Now that pipeline gets overwhelmed even during light rain and it floods many areas, even those not connected to it.
“As we speak it’s flooded in that area and all I can do is sit and watch, but at least the people know what to do because working with other councillors in the ward we’ve come up with ways to deal with our problems since we can’t rely on the municipality.”
Metro spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya failed to respond by the time of publication.
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