KAREEDOUW – Residents of Kareedouw ward 4 are calling for urgent municipal intervention as they continue to grapple with deteriorating infrastructure and basic service failures that have persisted for years across the area’s five informal settlements.
Andile Williams, a long-time resident of the ward, has spoken out about the mounting frustration within the community as essential services remain inadequate or non-existent in several locations.
The situation is particularly dire in New Rest location, where residents have been without water for more than 10 years.
Williams highlighted the ongoing struggle faced by families in the area.
“The people of New Rest location are still forced to use outside toilets because they don’t have proper sanitation facilities in their homes. Adding to their hardships, the municipality has recently cut off their electricity supply,” said Williams.
He further said that in Kagiso Heights, residents continue to navigate daily challenges with basic infrastructure.
Williams pointed out that the main streetlight has been non-functional for five years, while a leaking main drain has remained unrepaired for years.
“The lack of proper lighting and the ongoing drainage problems create health and safety risks for our community members,” said Williams.
While the main street light in Uitkyk has recently been restored to working order, he said that the smaller street lights positioned across the road remain non-functional.
The single working light, therefore, provides insufficient illumination for the entire street area.
“Without proper lighting, it’s dangerous for people to move around, especially at night. We’ve seen multiple robberies because of the dark conditions, and people don’t feel safe in their own community,” said Williams.
He further expressed disappointment about the deterioration of the sports field in Uitkyk Settlement, which has not been maintained since its renovation in 2015.
Williams said that their young people need safe spaces for recreation, but the sports field has been left to deteriorate.
He further said that one of the most frustrating issues for residents has been the incomplete road maintenance project in Mountain View location, which began three years ago but remains unfinished.
“What makes this even worse is that there hasn’t been a public meeting about this project for the last four years. The community deserves to know what’s happening with projects that affect their daily lives,” said Williams.
In response to these ongoing challenges, the community of Ward 4 has organised a public dialogue session scheduled for 31 August.
The meeting will take place at 16:00 opposite Greenfield White Shop and will focus specifically on the lack of municipal services.
Williams encouraged all residents to attend the meeting.
“This is our opportunity to come together as a community and demand the services we deserve. We need to make our voices heard,” said Williams.
Regarding the Mountain View location road maintenance project that began three years ago, Kou-Kamma Municipality’s Acting Municipal Manager, Advocate Mlamli Zenzile, acknowledged that the project remains incomplete due to ongoing contractual disputes.
“The municipality is doing its utmost to resolve the situation,” said Zenzile.
Commenting on water challenges in the New Rest location, he said that they have attended to pressure challenges in the top section of the settlement through a non-return valve.
Meanwhile, referring to the outdoor toilets in New Rest, Zenzile said that they are aware of the problem and that the matter is a top priority for intervention.
“Currently, the municipality is suffering from huge financial challenges which prohibit the use of internal funds to implement the project. We are looking for external funds,” said Zenzile.
Furthermore, he said that the cut-off of electricity in New Rest happened recently and was caused by Eskom supply interruption which affected all Eskom-supplied areas.
Regarding the lack of lighting at Kagiso Heights, Zenzile said that the area is lit by high mast lights which have been giving the municipality some problems for a while.
“To this end, funding has been applied for retrofitting the high mast lights in the 2025/26 financial year,” said Zenzile.
Commenting on the main drain in Kagiso Heights, he said that the pump broke in April this year, which has caused the leak.
Zenzile said that while investigating the matter, they discovered that there are houses built on the sewer lines and that the line was diverted.
“The new pump was installed and subsequently burnt. We are sourcing funds to purchase new pumps,” said Zenzile.
Regarding the sports field in Uitkyk, he said that the facility was rebuilt twice due to vandalism and that the municipality has made efforts to ensure its security.
“The municipality appeals to the community to look after assets that are meant for community use,” said Zenzile.
