October felt like two things at once: momentum and mess. We notched up real wins while still wrestling with problems bigger than any one street. Over 800 faults were logged across our suburb; most are now resolved, and the remainder are tracked as outstanding and escalated.
What moved forward
- Cables & lights. Openserve removed legacy copper. eThekwini did the same and replaced with aluminium-clad conductors. Streetlights across several roads were repaired and brought back online.
- Angle Park & Angle Road. Angle Park is lit again (small change, big impact). The long-running leak on Angle Road has been fixed. Spoil from road excavations remains an eyesore—we’ll keep pushing for proper backfill and tarring.
- The river & sewerage. We engaged the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and Department of Water & Sanitation on the persistent sewer crisis dating back to the 2022 floods. eThekwini sent teams to trace and repair manholes along the river. With input from resident Henry (our GIS whiz and nature lover), additional problem points were identified and are being addressed for a permanent fix.
- Scouts Hall. We’ve written to AMAFA to clarify options for a condemned, heritage-listed building. The goal: a lawful path to restore it for community use. It will be a long road—this is step one.
Showing up, Speaking up
We held our first community meeting with Cllr Samantha, Ethekwini Water, and Ethekwini Electricity to understand constraints and agree a way forward. Turnout from our immediate area was modest; residents from Watsin, Memorial Park, and Mount Vernon carried the conversation. Point taken: trust is earned. Your admins are working daily to earn it—through transparency, follow-through, and results. We hope our dilligent and committed efforts will gain your support. Together we fix, together we flourish.
Since the meeting we’re tracking turnaround times. On many jobs, eThekwini is closing leaks and fixing outages within ~24 hours. The long game is replacing asbestos water pipes so we stop firefighting leaks and secure stable supply. We’re seeking a community mandate to escalate formally—including to the Mayor’s Office—for budget and plan approval. Please vote on the Poll if you havent already.,
Independent Online spotlighted our suburb as a microcosm of broader municipal challenges; we’ll keep using media responsibly to hold the Local Authority to their promises—without fear or favour.
Safety & Tech
We hosted our first WhatsApp Q&A on the CCTV street-surveillance roll-out. 40+ residents joined—thank you. Next step: each participating street gets neighbours onboard so installations can proceed. We’ve also invited Memorial Park, Seaview, and Watsin to collaborate— with good progress there. Special Mention to Lenny, Becky and Mrs Strydom from the Watsin NHW for their keen interest and taking it to their EXCO. https://www.unityincommunity.org.za/2025/09/21/initiative-cctv-smart-community/
Participation gaps we need to close
Some roads are under-represented—Oldfield, Moorleigh, Belmuir, Rosewarne, Philhaven, and Lille. If you live there, please invite your neighbours to join the group and link them to an admin. Log faults together, update each other, and confirm when issues are resolved so we can tick them off the list. We dont want any road in our area left behind. On some of these roads listed above there is only one resident represented on those roads. We want to ensure all roads are adequately serviced we need your help to get people connected and on the Group.
Help yourself, help the community
Check our Resources page for practical guides—renewing your licence at Rossburgh, booking an ID card at DHA Pavilion, and more everyday “how-tos.” If something’s missing, email us and we’ll add it. https://www.unityincommunity.org.za/blog/ . A few residents have started clean-ups, cleaning verges and vacant land. Thank you to Noma for Dowland Avenue Clean-up and another member for the effort in cleaning their yard. This space was being used for unsavoury infractions. Lets all adopt where we live and keep the area outside our front yards tidy. When many help, all thrive.
The bigger picture
Street by street, we’re seeing Openserve infrastructure restored, backfills and tarring scheduled, streetlights changed, and water/electricity issues handled faster—with more root-cause fixes coming online. November will be busy; we’re committed to the vision of a neighbourhood that thrives. Our admins do this as volunteers, after full-time jobs. With limited resources, October still marked tangible steps forward—the start of many good things. Please get involved in our Initiatives https://www.unityincommunity.org.za/initiatives/ many hands make light work. (Pun Intended)
Thank you
To Cllr Samantha, Minister Dion George, Minister Pemmy Majodina, eThekwini Municipality, SAPS, Metro, and all supporting agencies—thank you for engaging and expediting. Most of all, thank you to the residents who turn ordinary effort into extraordinary outcomes by showing up, logging faults, and following through.
Hope matters. If it is to be, it is up to me. Let’s carry that into November—steadier, less stressed, and more effective—together. We are listening to you email us and lets start a conversation.