Failed by the government of the day, fed up residents in different parts of Buffalo City Metro have taken it upon themselves to make a difference in their communities.
Thirty years into SA’s democracy, many communities are using different methods to either hold the government accountable or to make a change themselves.
In the past year, the city has been subjected to lawsuits by fed up residents over electricity issues, as well as cleanliness in one of the leafy suburbs.
Quigney residents have organised themselves through a ratepayers association to give voice to issues in their suburb, as well as Beacon Bay and Gunubie.
In the country’s second-biggest township Mdantsane, residents have taken it upon themselves to patrol the streets due to the high crime rate and lack of security in the area.
They have followed in the footsteps of Duncan Village residents, who started street patrols in their area in 2014.
The trend, which at times has seen acts of vigilantism to draw out confessions or recover stolen goods, has spread to different suburbs in the city.
Quigney has also joined the trend, with its residents forming their own neighbourhood safety organisation.
Environmentally friendly citizens are also organising themselves to tackle illegal dumping, with the launch of a WhatsApp group in the city called “Illegal dumping is a crime”.
One of the city’s activists who has been fighting to see services improved is Leonard Ncumbese, through his National Community Dialogues.
Ncumbese has been at the forefront fighting the city’s billing issues, which led to some residents being cut off from purchasing electricity.
He won a court case against the municipality in 2023 over the implementation of the city’s collection policy.
“There are many wards in Buffalo City that are illegally connected [to the grid], the municipality should [ensure] those areas should be legally connected so people can buy electricity, that’s revenue for the municipality,” Ncumbese said.
He said he had been approached by different communities to assist with their problems, including electricity, because they did not receive help from their leaders.
“The problem here is leadership, we don’t have leadership, we don’t have people who like our province, we just have people who are concerned about themselves, prosperity, their families, their friends,” he said.
He said 30 years into democracy, the state of BCM, small towns and the province, was bad.
Ncumbese criticised the provincial government for having, on several occasions, returned money to the National Treasury.
Quigney Ratepayers Association chair Satish Nair said the suburb had deteriorated in the 15 years he had been a resident there.
“What Quigney was before, it used to be a place where everybody wanted to be.
'People wanted to invest in Quigney. Then slowly things started deteriorating,” he said.
The association was established in 2023 in response to, among other issues, the increase in car washers on the beachfront.
The association has worked with law enforcement to deal with the problem.
Concerned about crime, Ludumo Salman started a crime forum in Duncan Village.
“The government is failing to deal with crime.
“Some people would say crime and corruption but I would like to dwell mainly on crime ... because families are burying their loved ones,” he said.
He complained about the lack of visible policing in the area.
“Police are supposed to be visible within the communities,” he said.
Concerned about the issue of illegal dumping, community activist Amanda Timms created a community WhatsApp group that allows residents across the metro to report people who are illegally dumping waste.
Timms said she had created the group three years ago with the aim of curbing the high number of illegal dumping sites across the metro.
She said: “Initially, I was getting several reports from people about the illegal dumping, which is happening all over BCM.
“I decided to create the group so that we could end pollution.”
After receiving notifications about any illegal dumping activities, she alerts law enforcement, which then deals with the perpetrators.
DispatchLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.