Much still needs fixing in KuGompo and Makana, Eastern Cape, ahead of 4 November elections

Among the challenges residents face are inconsistent water supply, failing water infrastructure and disputed municipal water bills. Residents of KuGompo in the Eastern Cape face water shortages, high unemployment, and rampant crime, and the opposition says those who win after the upcoming elections need to hit the ground running. EFF mayoral candidate Mkhululi Dlevu told The Citizen that the ANC-led administration in Buffalo City had failed residents on water, jobs and safety. KuGompo led by ‘incompetent’ people According to Dlevu, the municipality is run by people who lack the right skills and are “very incompetent”. LIVE interactive map, latest news, multimedia and more! View Map Residents face inconsistent water supply, failing water infrastructure and disputed municipal water bills. He said that if a township could be left in that state, rural communities around the metro were likely to be worse off. “Water is an essential service. You cannot deny people water. “We also need to get rid of water tankers that are making people sick,” he said during The Citizen’s recent visit to the area. The trip is part of The Citizen’s travels across the length and breadth of the country to explore the lives, struggles, successes and frustrations of everyday South Africans ahead of this year’s local government elections. Dlevu also pointed to unfinished infrastructure projects in the municipality, including a swimming pool in Mdantsane’s NU 2 that remains non-operational despite significant investment. “We want to fix that pool. We should be getting Olympians and world champions coming out of that area,” he said. Clinics, housing and rural communities According to Dlevu, rural residents paid the highest price for poor service delivery, with many villages without adequate housing and about an hour from the nearest public hospital. “An ambulance is gonna take another hour or more to get there,” he said. Jobs Like many parts of the province and nation, unemployment plagues the municipality, with alleged cronyism and sex-for-jobs rife. Dlevu said government had let young people down. “To say they have done little is an understatement. They have done nothing. “Many young people have studied hard but have nothing to show for it. They studied, and their certificates are collecting dust,” he said. Crime Crime is also rife in a city allegedly with about 80 law enforcement officers for more than 800k residents. Opposition have long questioned why the metro lacks cameras at street corners and intersections. “If citizens can afford to put cameras in their homes, it clearly indicates that the municipality can do the same,” Dlevu added. Melisizwe Mandela, speaking for the Melisizwe Mandela Foundation, said these challenges were not limited to Buffalo City. “The issue is not necessarily a lack of policies or plans. The challenge is implementation, accountability and ensuring that public resources actually translate into better lives for ordinary people.” He said residents wanted action over talk. “Residents are not simply interested in political slogans; they want functioning municipalities that respond to their everyday needs,” he said. “They want leaders who understood unemployment, technology and entrepreneurship. “They want to participate in the economy rather than remain permanent recipients of promises,” he said. The battle to turn Makana around Service delivery is also a hot topic 2 hours away in Makana, where residents have recently protested over smart meters and complained about ballooning water projects that deliver little. ANC councillor and Portfolio Chairperson for Local Economic Development and Planning in the municipality, Mzobanzi Nkwentsha, defended his government’s actions, saying it was working hard to remove the “albatross” of two disclaimer audit opinions for 2023 and 2024. Asked about the James Kleynhans water treatment works, where costs had grown from R160 million to over R400 million, Nkwentsha said three of its four phases were complete, which lifted capacity “from ten mega litres to twenty mega litres”. He said the municipality still had to improve pumping so that the water reached residents. On the prepaid smart meters that sparked protests in June, he said the project was meant to end manual billing errors. He said the move was to “protect residents rather than enfranchise them”. Political future The ANC currently run both the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and Makana Local Municipality. In Buffalo City, the EFF is the third-largest party behind the ANC and DA, while it holds only two seats in Makana. “We are planning to win this municipality,” Dlevu said of his hopes in Buffalo City, adding that the EFF would not work with the DA to oust the ANC. Meanwhile, Nkwentsha is confident of ANC victories across the province next month, saying the ANC’s message to voters was about “hope and continuity.” “It is a message of stability in governance. We have done so much, and we are asking voters for another chance to finish the job.”