Tunatazama - Community Monitors

Poor Development

Lindiwe Matshiane

 

Name: Lindiwe Matshiane

Place: Middelburg Avalon area

Municipality: Steve Tshwete Municipality

Province: Mpumalanga Province

Poor development

#INFORMALSETTLEMENTATRISK

Avalon is a subsection in Mhluzi township, with a population of around 12,600. It’s on the East of Steve Tshwete Municipality in Mpumalanga Province. The informal settlement was established around 1989 due to a shortage of houses by the then-Middelburg Municipality under the Regional Service Council (which is currently Nkangal District Municipality).

The challenge is that communities are misplaced to live in unsafe environments where they are exposed to wild animals such as snakes, baboons, and wild cats, especially at night when these wild animals are more visible. Avalon community uses street pit toilets which are shared by four households per pit toilet. The Steve Tshwete Municipality had previously extracted human waste every week, but now they extract it once a month. Avalon community collects tap water on the street whereby about 150 families use one water tap which is not safe for the community. Electricity is unsafe because it’s installed on poles and not underground. There’s only one public clinic that is utilized by almost 19,000, which is the combination of Chrome Chromeville & RDP ext 2.

Currently, the Steve Tshwete Municipality has to relocate people to other areas like MKOKO HLONG. These are RDP houses, but they are not in a safe place because they are next to the Mhluzi River. That river has a lot of untold stories about people missing, there is also a smell that comes from the Boskrans Sewage plant.

The community had asked the Steve Tshwete Municipality to provide SPLUMA (special development plan) because the community believes that the current Steve Tshwete Municipality still uses the Apartheid special development which puts the lives of communities in an unsafe risk place. Avalon communities had marched to Steve Tshwete Municipality to present their list of demands. The Municipality had tried to address some demands.

Avalon community continues to participate in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) to raise their concern about the development in the area.

 

#SAFE LIVING PLACE & ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY

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