Celani Sikhakhane
When Nkandla’s most famous resident Jacob Zuma was president, the residents of the neighbourhood of Makhendle hoped they would see improvements.
But today, many of those who live in Makhendle, which neighbours Zuma’s affluent neighbourhood of kwaNxamalala, still reside in dilapidated and run-down thatch houses.
The local induna, mama Sebenzile Nhlebela, told Scrolla.Africa the area continues to be neglected by the local government, despite Nkandla’s high budget.
Between 2009 and 2017, Nkandla’s annual budget was reportedly consistently higher than the Provincial annual budget.
As well as kwaNxamalala, ministers and MECs famously visited the Shange area, bringing with them property development and private investment.
Induna Nhlebela said those in the area who are well off enough are moving to Nkandla’s wealthier neighbourhoods, leaving Makhendle to fall even further behind.
“We all wanted to move to kwaShange and Nxamalama but we couldn’t do that because we have our family cemeteries here. We can’t leave our ancestors,” said induna Nhlebela.
She said they were hoping that housing projects would quickly spring up in the area when Zuma was elected president in 2009.
“We had high hopes that we would get RDP houses because he was president. It didn’t happen and now we have lost hope that we will get any.”
Residents of kwaDhlomo and eMabhuqwini are also moving to the town’s more prosperous areas.
Recent improvements in kwaShange and Nxamalama include a road which connects Nkandla, Showe and Maphumulo to the N2 in Stanger. New clinics, schools and Social Development offices have also sprung up in recent years, increasing the internal divide.
