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For Sihle Mavuso 
1 hour ago
Durban – Jacob Zuma’s rise to the pinnacle of the country’s politics, in 2007, when he ousted then-President Thabo Mbeki in Polokwane, brought public attention for the first time to Nkandla, his impoverished hometown in north KwaZulu-Natal.
At some point, media teams went in and out of the area to talk to the locals about one of their own who became the most powerful man in the country and probably the African continent. It fostered hope that the place would eventually develop.
Previously, Nkandla had no running water, no electricity and the roads were so bad that the journey to the nearest and better-resourced towns of eShowe, Kranskop and Greytown was a real struggle.
As Zuma faces legal challenges and continues to fight with the Zondo Commission, which is investigating allegations of state capture under his presidency, most residents are reluctant to discuss the latest developments in the saga.
One resident even told Independent Media that “we don’t discuss these issues with the media here. We only talk about them behind closed doors, since the Zumas are our neighbors. Long after the media is gone, we have to face it and live with it. “
Independent Media was in the area to monitor the visit by the leadership of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) to pledge their support for Zuma as he faces arrest for defying the Constitutional Court, which had ordered him to appeal to the Commission. Zondo. .
Back to life under Zuma in Nkandla. Some residents of the municipality, with 14 rural districts, agree that there was some development under Zuma. They cite the electrification of the area, the roads that were built and the supply of drinking water.
Bonginkosi Dladla, a retiree from Nkandla, said that things had changed and that they were thankful that the village had some kind of renovation.
“Yes, we saw some development in the area and that can be attributed to him becoming president. Some departments could not ignore a place where the head of state lived. However, there is a feeling that since he left power, development has stalled, ”said Dladla in deep Zulu, which is normally spoken in the north of the province.
While camped outside the sprawling Zuma home, two young women passed by and raised some questions about whether their hopes for development were dashed when Zuma left power. They were reluctant to speak at first, but then one of them lamented that since Zuma left power, there has been no reliable supply of water.
“Since Zuma left, the supply of drinking water has been lacking. We have no idea why. Sometimes our taps are dry for days and nobody bothers to explain why. As residents, we think that the water was being reliably provided because Zuma was in power, ”said one of the women who did not give her identity.
Another resident, Bheki Zakwe, who claimed to have returned to the area in recent years after spending most of his time in Pietermaritzburg, where he worked, said some developments were going according to plan.
Zakwe cited the construction of a better gravel road connecting Nkandla to Kranskop via the uThukela River.
“My understanding of the whole situation is that all the projects are known or are being carried out. Look at the workers working on that gravel road to Kranskop. They haven’t stopped because Zuma is gone. Yes, there may be projects that have stopped, but I don’t know about them, ”said Zakwe.
For others, Zuma’s exit from power seems to have left them in trouble. Bhekeni MaShange Mbambo, a retiree who has been a neighbor of the Zumas for decades, said it was undeniable that Nkandla was abuzz with activity during Zuma’s tenures. She said that some of them had gone hungry since then because EPWP (Expanded Public Works Program) jobs were no longer available as they used to be.
“Much has changed for some of us since Nxamalala (Zuma) left the presidency. We used to get part-time jobs, like pulling weird weeds, to make money. Now that is no longer the case. However, we are grateful to have witnessed some development and that changed Nkandla a lot, ”he said in Zulu.
The municipality of Nkandla is under the leadership of the IFP and that has been the case since 1996, when the country adopted the local government system. But sometime after the 2011 local government elections, the ANC won it through a coalition with the NFP, but the IFP quickly got it back.
When asked about Nkandla after Zuma, IFP Mayor Thami Ntuli dismissed as a fallacy that Zuma had anything to do with the development of the area.
He said that what is currently considered development was done to benefit Zuma, not the entire community.
“The only asphalt road (valued at 582 million rand) that we saw was the one connecting Nkandla to Kranskop and that road runs past the former president’s house. We are not aware of another project that came from Zuma or was brought by him.
“Right now, as has happened in the past, we have challenges with houses that were promised to people by the provincial housing department but were not built, roads that are not maintained by the provincial transportation department. We had these challenges even during his presidency, ”said Ntuli.
Ntuli agreed with some residents that since Zuma left, the King Cetshwayo district municipality’s water supply has been lacking.
“While we have challenges related to water, the problem has worsened after Zuma left. The taps are dry and the district municipality is failing the people, ”he said.
While the local accommodation tourism industry that is anchored in the town of eShowe could not be reached, it could be assumed that it has suffered immensely after Zuma left. This is how during the time of Zuma, businessmen and politicians from all walks of life used to sleep in nearby cities and with better resources to gain an audience with Zuma.
Some of Zuma’s large staff, which included an extensive security team, used to stay in the city. At some point, the bill for accommodating them was questioned, and when Zuma was removed from office, his security team was cut significantly.
For the residents of Nkandla, like many similar cities in the country, there is uncertainty about employment, infrastructure development, and the stable supply of water and electricity. Many believe it will be a long time before the area experiences another golden age.
Political Bureau
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