Date: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Venue: Revival Fellowship Church, Dickens Road, Hillary
Purpose: Engagement between residents of Ward 65, Cllr Windvogel (Ward Councillor) and representatives of eThekwini Municipality — Electricity (EE) and Water & Sanitation (EWS) — to surface service-delivery concerns, obtain feedback, and agree next steps.
Attendance:
- Cllr Windvogel (Ward Councillor)
- EE: Junior Electricity Technician (name noted)
- EWS: Nolwazi
- Residents of Ward 65
Apologies: Not recorded.
1) Electricity
1.1 Presentation (EE)
- Overview of Ward 65 electrical infrastructure and how outages impact different areas.
- EE operational area extends as far as the Bluff; weekend manpower is limited.
1.2 Issues & Resident Feedback
- Information relayed to residents (via the Ward Cllr) is sometimes inaccurate.
- Concerns about contractor performance (poor/absent work). Allegations of requests for “bribes in kind” were raised. Action: Residents who experienced this were asked to file official complaints so EM can investigate.
- Request that contractors remain on site briefly after repairs to verify stability and prevent immediate recurrence.
- Fault-logging/call centre process is inefficient; faults are sometimes closed as “resolved” when they are not.
- Request for contractor details for accountability purposes.
- Perceived internal confusion within EE causing delays, affecting the Councillor’s updates.
- Request that EE compile and present a clear Action Plan for resident feedback.
- Excavations not being promptly/properly backfilled, creating hazardous conditions. EE advised backfilling is the Roads Dept’s responsibility.
- Substation security and quality of repairs: request for planned preventative maintenance rather than reactive fixes.
2) Water & Sanitation
2.1 Information (EWS)
- Many asbestos pipes (±50 years old) are failing.
- Turnaround plans have been developed.
- Commitment: Provide a plan addressing all raised concerns within 3 months.
- Request: Residents to forward all fault reference numbers to Nolwazi (EWS) for follow-up.
- Commitment: Provide feedback to residents within 7 working days of the meeting (i.e., by 27 October 2025).
- Commitment: Consider using Public Employment Programme staff to address backfill issues.
2.2 Issues & Resident Feedback
- Holes left after repairs are not backfilled timeously/adequately.
- Information relayed to residents (via the Ward Cllr) is sometimes inaccurate.
- Frequent pipe bursts leading to multi-day water outages.
- Ongoing sewer leaks/manhole issues.
- Broken sewer (since 2022 floods) severely impacting health and quality of life.
- Concern that the constitutional right of access to sufficient water is being infringed.
- The intended cross-departmental workflow is failing in practice.
- Request for street-by-street EWS engagements (with an inspector and supervisor present) to map issues into the turnaround plan.
| # | Action | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| EL-1 | Compile and present Ward 65 Electricity Action Plan (incl. outage mitigation, contractor oversight, substation security, post-repair verification). | EE | TBD (EE to propose date) |
| EL-2 | Review and rectify fault-closure process with Call Centre; prevent premature closures; publish process improvements. | EE | TBD |
| EL-3 | Coordinate with Roads Dept to ensure timely, safe backfilling of excavations; report back on workflow. | EE (with Roads) | TBD |
| WS-1 | Provide resident feedback on logged issues within 7 working days of meeting. | EWS (Nolwazi) | 27 Oct 2025 |
| WS-2 | Deliver a 3-month turnaround plan addressing pipe failures, sewer leaks, and service-restoration timelines. | EWS | By 16 Jan 2026 |
| WS-3 | Consider and report on using PEP staff for backfills (scope, timing, safety). | EWS | TBD |
| WS-4 | Schedule street-by-street inspections with an EWS inspector & supervisor; capture issues into the turnaround plan. | EWS | TBD |
| RS-1 | Submit all fault reference numbers (electricity, water, sewer) for centralised follow-up. | Residents → EWS (Nolwazi) | Ongoing |
Next Meeting: To be scheduled (EE to propose Action Plan date; EWS progress updates due per above).
Minutes prepared by: Sarah Basson (Administrator)
Date: 16 October 2025