ANDILE MOSHOESHOE
A CAMPAIGN aimed at encouraging communities to work hand-in-hand with the government in driving development within their areas is beginning to yield tangible results in the Harry Gwala district.
This comes after various communities continuously approached the municipality to seek assistance where it was most needed.
As a result on Tuesday, April 7, Harry Gwala District Municipality mayor Zamo Nxumalo, visited two villages, kwaPhini and eTafileni, in Ward 9 under the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Local Municipality to inspect a self-initiated water supply project undertaken by local residents.
Nxumalo was accompanied by the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Local Municipality mayor Sindi Msomi.
The initiative was sparked by Siphamandla Khuboni who raised concerns about the lack of water in the area despite the presence of natural water springs that only required pipes and water tanks to make them usable.
Khuboni voiced his concern during the mayor’s public engagement on Gagasi FM. Mayor Nxumalo wasted no time and visited the area alongside municipal officials to assess the situation firsthand.
The municipality arrived with water tanks and piping to enable the community to channel water from the springs into storage tanks, which now serve as distribution points supplying water from one household to another.
Public standpipes were also installed to ensure that residents without tanks in their homes could still access water conveniently.
Nxumalo praised the spirit of self-reliance demonstrated by the community, commending residents for refusing to sit back and wait for government intervention, but instead taking the initiative to improve their own living conditions.
“This is the kind of contribution we highly commend, because communities are now genuinely calling on us to come and support what they have already started for themselves. We began in Kokstad, at kwaPakkies, where we found a community already taking the lead, and we intervened without expecting to be paid,” said Nxumalo.
He said this was the kind of example he hoped would not remain confined to the Harry Gwala District alone, but would instead inspire communities in other areas to embrace self-driven development and collective responsibility.
The mayor said what brings him great joy is that women are at the forefront of the project, having taken the lead in breaking stones with picks, a task traditionally regarded as men’s work.
