Durban — The Phoenix Civic Movement (PCM) has convened a meeting with the eThekwini Municipality to address the service delivery problems affecting Phoenix, north of Durban.
Deputy PCM chairperson Alice Govender highlighted a lack of water supply that has plagued Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, as well as the attitude of security guards and hospital staff.
Govender said that elderly people at the health-care centre were illtreated, and their dignity abused by the security personnel. She decried the work of the hospital board of directors, and suggested that it should be reviewed.
Val Pillay, a PCM member, said the municipality was failing to perform its duty of community service. She said the problems included community safety and security, street lights not working, and sewage flowing onto the streets and into streams, making living in the area unbearable.
Pillay added that the movement wanted to demonstrate the seriousness of its demands.
“We will not allow arrogance and being shown the middle finger, as a disregard for the plight of our people. If our issues are not adequately addressed, we will call for another meeting and intensify our protest action against poor service delivery,” vowed Pillay.
Govender requested that a flat rate for water and electricity to be charged to senior citizens of Phoenix.
“The metro must stop charging interest on overdue bills, as this is tantamount to fleecing the already struggling communities,” Govender said.
Another PCM member, Ashan Baboolall, queried the scrap yards and illegal dumping in residential areas, saying this posed a health hazard to community members living near these dump sites.
Responding, Metro police department representative Eric Khuzwayo said all scrap yards had to register with the SAPS in order to purchase scrap, and to operate in residential areas.
He asked the PCM delegates to identify and forward a list of all scrap yards in Phoenix. Khuzwayo stressed that illegal dumping was an offence, and a fine of up to R5 000 could be imposed on defaulters.
“Community members must be made aware, and photographs of the defaulters taken as evidence, before going to the SAPS to open a case,” Khuzwayo stressed.
eThekwini municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the City always tried to accommodate the elderly in its health-care facilities.
“Yes, we do concede we experienced service delivery disruptions in this area in the form of water and electricity, but they have since been resolved. They were compounded by the rolling power outages, which are beyond the City’s control.
“The City is also concerned about several incidents of illegal connections to its electricity infrastructure, which makes it difficult to provide basic services.
“The City has noted the concerns of meter readings and it has since improved in this regard. Yes, the City concedes that there have been several incidents of illegal dumping; this is despite our by-laws making this unlawful conduct a criminal offence.
“Responsibility for ridding our communities of illegal dumping does not rest only on the City, as community members also have a role to play.
“The Office of the speaker is working very hard to ensure that all councillors hold meetings in communities that elected them,” Mayisela said.
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