Leader for RISE Mzansi KwaZulu-Natal caucus, Nonkululeko Hlongwane-Mhlongo, led a party march to eThekwini Municipality earlier today in demand for access to clean and safe drinking water for residents of KZN.
With close to 400 members of RISE Mzansi, Hlongwane-Mhlongo lamented that an extreme number of people in KZN continue to experience the plague of water shedding and dry taps.
She said the mayor’s office has failed to fulfil and render a constitutional right and basic services of water and sanitation, citing that Census 2022 recorded 51.8% of KZN households have access to piped water.
Hlongwane-Mhlongo and party members delivered a memorandum to the mayor’s office, demanding that every household has access to water, and a safe and reformed sanitation system by adding conducive flushing toilets, which will not overburden the existing sanitation infrastructure.
RISE Mzansi further demanded eThekwini Municipality to ensure access to adequate toilets and sanitation infrastructure in schools, by abolishing pit toilets in order to prevent future cases of children falling into pit latrines, or drowning in one.
“In KZN, only 58.9% of households used flush toilets and even more horrific is the latest census statistics showing that 28.5% of households in the province still use pit latrines.
“Over time, we will need to change everything, from how we use water in toilets and how we design our settlements and homes, to how we organise water storage and distribution and decide what activities and in what quantities water can be used and which it cannot,” said Hlongwane-Mhlongo.
The woes of floods befell on the province caused by heavy rainfall in the past recent years, hence, Hlongwane-Mhlongo said a new government under RISE Mzansi will establish new water management systems and flood infrastructures to handle future floods and other ecological cases.
“In the face of the climate crisis, we have no choice but to reform our food and water systems. This will help us mitigate the impacts of climate change, adapt to the new reality of climate breakdown and address inequalities and injustices related to both food and water.
“In April 2022, over three days in KZN, heavy rainfall caused severe flooding and landslides. This led to the death of 448 people, displaced over 40 000 and destroyed 12 000 houses,” said Hlongwane-Mhlongo.
Hlongwane-Mhlongo, who is also the party’s premier candidate for KZN, proposed a RISE Mzansi government, provincially, will further establish Mzansi Water Keepers to assist in fixing water infrastructure.
The water keepers will recruit retired engineers and qualified young people to receive training. This is also in adherence to the party’s policy in employing people who have reached 35, since they are considered unemployable.
“The water keepers will assist with replacing and refurbishing infrastructure.
“They will help community initiatives to localise water storage such as rainwater harvesting swathes, continuous contour trenches, and percolation dams; and rehabilitation interventions in critical waterways, wetlands, and Strategic Water Source Areas,” said Hlongwane-Mhlongo.
The Star