The housing crisis in Area 11 didn’t start with executive mayor Babalwa Lobishe.
Let’s be honest about that.
The rot dates back to the days of Mongameli Bobani, Athol Trollip, Retief Odendaal and Gary van Niekerk.
To dump all of it at Lobishe’s door now is not just misleading — it’s politically convenient.
I’ve listened to residents and committee members in Gunguluza Area 10/11.
One fact keeps coming up: at some point, housing was taken away from the municipality and handed to provincial government to administer.
So if we’re going to talk about unfulfilled promises, we need to talk about who made them, when, and with what authority.
Which brings us to the sudden interest shown by Odendaal and his circle in Area 10/11.
It’s interesting, to say the least.
I don’t know how many DA councillors there are in Kariega, but I’ve yet to see a single one of them when KwaNobuhle’s sewers run through the streets, when taps run dry for days, or when electricity outages drag on for weeks.
Yet suddenly, Area 10/11 is top of the agenda.
I have seen the six ANC councillors going up and down facing angry communities.
I have seen Lobishe arriving as early as 8am to talk to the taxi associations following the Kariega shutdown.
Residents must not be used as political pawns to score cheap points.
Service delivery is more than just a social media content.
The situation in Area 10/11 is real and painful.
It is a life lived by the residents full time.
Those who decide to live it part time must do so knowing that people died there waiting for their homes to be built.
If we’re serious about ending the drama, then let’s ask the questions that actually matter.
First: What happened to the money that was allocated for these houses?
Second: How were people promised houses without an approved, available budget?
Third: Why was a meeting called to introduce a contractor if nothing was finalised?
Answer those three questions and the ambiguities end.
We’ll know who dropped the ball, who over-promised, and where the money went – or didn’t go.
The people of Area 10/11 have waited through multiple mayors and two spheres of government.
They don’t need another round of finger-pointing.
They need houses, and they need the truth.
Blaming Lobishe for a mess she inherited is easy.
Fixing it means following the paper trail, no matter which former mayor, MEC, or party it leads to.
Stop the theatre. Start with the budget.
Lindithemba Sdeba, KwaNobuhle
