KZN Premier Nomusa MaDube-Ncube has made it clear that residents of Nkovukeni village in Mhlabuyalingana will continue to receive services only via the estuary where their island is situated because there are no plans to build a bridge there.
She was responding to a controversy over the delivery of ballot papers on election day by boats which had to cross the water to reach communities.
The island is part of the Isimangaliso Wetland Park .
MaDube-Ncube said that the area is reserved for wildlife, not human beings.
“The area was invaded by those community members to build houses. It was a big mistake because that land is not for human beings but for wildlife. Therefore there are no future plans to build a bridge over that river,” said MaDube-Ncube.
The area is in a remote part of KwaZulu-Natal in the uMkhanyakude district municipality.
Whenever they want to access government services, residents wade or take a boat across the estuary.
In 2016 the Department of Transport donated boats to help the community cross the estuary. But residents claim learners need to wade across because the boats are too small to carry all of them to school. Families also struggle to bury their loved ones, having to carry the coffin across the water.
In 2021 island residents boycotted the local government elections.
They say they are forgotten citizens who have never enjoyed the freedom of this country.
They want the government to help them with services such as schools, clinics, water, electricity and roads.
And they claim they have been cut out of basic services for years, as if they don’t belong to the South African state.
Pictured above: The estuary of Nkovukeni island village, where Premier Nomusa MaDube-Ncube says a bridge will not be built.
Image source: YouTube
