Durban — The eThekwini Municipality mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda has rejected claims made by the DA that the water and sanitation infrastructure at the Ohlange pump station in uMhlanga, north of Durban, is being fixed because of pressure from the DA.
On Tuesday, DA KZN chairperson Dean Macpherson, accompanied by ward 35 councillor Nicole Bollman, recorded a video at the pump station with municipal workers in the background who seemed to have been at the site to conduct repairs.
In the video, Macpherson says that it was fascinating to see that so many municipal officials had pitched up to start repairing or trying to work out how to fix the disaster at the pump station, which is allowing raw sewage to flow into the Ohlange River and onto uMhlanga beaches.
“It is only through the pressure of the DA and the work of councillor Nicole and her team in the caucus that we are now starting to see the municipality rush out here and start to work out how they can fix this.
“This is going to be a long project but at least something is now happening,” Macpherson said.
He said that they would keep holding the ANC, the mayor and city manager Musa Mbhele accountable and would make sure that they fixed the pump stations one by one and that the city is repaired and returned to where it should be.
Following relentless pressure from the DA, we are elated to see that work has begun to fix the Blackburn sewage pump station, the biggest pump station in the Northern region of eThekwini.
— DA KZN (@DA_KZN) October 18, 2022
The raw sewerage in this pump station is flowing into beaches in the uMhlanga area. pic.twitter.com/HnQZUjg2M4
Reacting to the video, Kaunda accused the “wannabe actors” from the DA of cheap politicking.
“The DA pretends not to know just how much damage the April floods inflicted on water and sanitation infrastructure. The work that has now commenced at Ohlange Sewerage Pump Station is testimony to what the city has been communicating that work is under way to effect repairs on all critical infrastructure,” Kaunda said.
“As recently as October 6th we held a joint media briefing with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry where we gave an update to residents and businesses of progress on infrastructure repairs.
“It is therefore disingenuous for the DA to claim that repair work that has commenced on Ohlange is a result of the pressure it is exerting on us. This is particularly ironic coming from a party that hardly ever supports any city budget being tabled, including budgets to repair infrastructure,” Kaunda said.
Kaunda also reminded the DA that on Tuesday, the executive committee (Exco) visited the Tongaat Waterworks to assess progress and to assure themselves that the plant will be recommissioned as planned at the end of October. “Exco was assured that all is on track indeed. DA members of Exco were part of that visit and they saw for themselves work being done there.”
The mayor assured all stakeholders that the city is pulling out all the stops to ensure speedy repairs to all critical infrastructure.
“In the meantime, we call upon the DA to desist from misinformation. Using flood damage to score cheap political points is low, even for a desperate party like the DA,” Kaunda concluded.
Also commenting on the DA’s video, @OfferAubrey said: “Cr*p ... this is just the DA claiming glory... This has happened because the public started to do something ... all politicians are only there as professionals ... you cannot win higher positions by solving public problems of the opposition.”
Daily News