eNgonyameni gets a road, a bridge and water for R9m as eThekwini bets on concrete

Residents of eNgonyameni, south of Durban, have taken handover of road, bridge and water infrastructure worth about R9 million, in a package the municipality says will improve their access to schools, healthcare facilities and public transport.

eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba and Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo handed the projects over on Friday. The infrastructure includes a newly constructed access bridge, a one-kilometre concrete road, two rural borehole networks and houses delivered through the Vumengazi Rural Housing Project and its rectification programme.

The municipality invested R8 million in the road and bridge project, which replaces infrastructure repeatedly damaged by flooding. Concrete was chosen to withstand extreme weather conditions, and the city presents the road and bridge as a safe and reliable transport link that makes it easier for residents to reach public transport, local schools and healthcare facilities.

The borehole work was handed over as the Tafelkop Borehole Project, valued at approximately R1 million, aimed at communities without formal piped water networks. It forms part of a broader programme to install 94 boreholes in targeted water-scarce communities, which the municipality describes as an immediate intervention to stabilise alternative water supply while its longer-term, multi-billion-rand water infrastructure overhaul continues across eThekwini.

Speaking at the handover, Xaba urged the community to protect the new infrastructure against vandalism, warning that damage to municipal property undermines development.

“Vandalising municipal property sets our communities back and drains resources that could be used to develop other needy areas,” Xaba said.

He reaffirmed the municipality’s commitment to fast-tracking services such as water, roads and sanitation to bridge the development gap between urban and rural wards. The projects form part of the municipality’s service delivery acceleration programme, which the city frames around restoring dignity, driving rural development and improving residents’ quality of life.

Mahlobo commended the city’s progress on water infrastructure and its expansion of access to water, including through alternative supply solutions.

“eThekwini has come a long way in improving water infrastructure and boosting water supply even if it means exploring alternative measures,” he said.

This report is based on the SAnews (South African Government News Agency) account of the handover, which is a summary of the event rather than the full project record. The underlying contracts, completion dates and maintenance arrangements are not set out in that account. The source is at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/r9m-infrastructure-projects-benefit-engonyameni-residents.