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uMshwathi residents use shared river water before elections

Published

Families in Ebubendeni and Kamelhouk in KwaZulu-Natal say they have no piped water and no pedestrian bridge. Some draw water from a river that animals also use, and they say water tankers come too rarely.

Wonder Ngcobo, a resident of Ebubendeni in Swayimane, said: "We have to get the water from the river because we don't have taps in our homes." Dolly Maphumulo, who hand-washes clothes in a river in Swayimane, said she has given up on the water situation. Residents also say people have been hurt, sometimes fatally, while crossing the river when it overflows.

uMshwathi Local Municipality has 14 wards and an annual budget of about R300 million. Opposition parties say they are ready to unseat the ANC there. Democratic Alliance caucus leader Raganie Thomas links all the service delivery failures to the ANC. The DA holds two seats in the council and plans to grow that number.

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mzwandile Majozi said his party is sure it will take over. MK Party regional spokesperson Sakhile Ngcobo said the party will have a majority if it repeats its 2024 result of 54,99% in the area. The ANC said it is confident it will keep its majority now that its legal fight with the Electoral Commission of South Africa is over.

Key facts

Who
Wonder Ngcobo (resident of Ebubendeni, Swayimane, who gets water from a stream); Sthembiso Maphumulo (Ebubendeni resident); Dolly Maphumulo (Swayimane resident who hand-washes clothes in the river); Zozo Skhakhane (community leader in Empolweni, Kamelhouk)
What
Eyewitness News visited the sugarcane-rich uMshwathi municipality ahead of the 2026 local government elections and reported on residents' water, washing and river-crossing problems, and on opposition parties' views on the ANC.
When
27 October 2026
Where
uMshwathi Local Municipality, Swayimane, Ebubendeni
Status
Reported

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