Though infrastructure for taps to supply drinking water in Ngunduza village in Centane was completed more than a decade ago, villagers have been without supply for the past three years. A small stream with murky, stinking water is the only source of water Nosiphelo Debe and other villagers have access to.
As residents of Kei Mouth and Morgan Bay (Gxarha) continued to pick up the pieces after last week’s devastating storm, it emerged there was plenty of damage further inland as well. The Amathole District Municipality (ADM) has appealed to the human settlements department for help with more than 200 families who were left homeless.
Frustrated and desperate residents of Gxarha (formerly Morgan Bay) and Kei Mouth had to take matters into their own hands to bring back water and lights to some parts after being without the essential services for almost a week.Several towns in the Eastern Cape, including the two towns, were left without electricity for days after a storm caused damage to Eskom infrastructure last Monday.
The heavy rains that battered the province throughout the festive season continued this week, with flooding affecting parts of the rain-ravaged region, and there’s still more to come.Homes and infrastructure have been damaged, with even steel railway lines being washed away by the relentless downpour.
The community of Mazeppa Bay near Centane has closed the town’s popular suspension bridge over safety fears. The bridge is popular with tourists, anglers and fishing guides, who walk across it from the beach to Mazeppa Bay Island where visitors enjoy the scenic view.