BASIC SUPPLIES CRISIS AS MLUMATI FLOODED

MATSAMO – For Nhlambeni residents, bread is worth risking their lives for as they have been cut off from getting basic items due to a flooded river.

Nhlambeni is a community near Matsamo, where over 200 homesteads have been cut off from the rest of the country due to the overflowing Mlumati River. The river has been overflowing since the downpour of rains. The heavy downpour experienced around the country caused many rivers to overflow.

This resulted in motorists being unable to drive their vehicles along the riverbed as a bridge which was constructed collapsed several years ago. 

Campaigning

Year after year, parliamentarians, when campaigning for elections, have always assured the residents of Nhlambeni that they would get a bridge constructed but this has remained a farfetched dream. 

According to some of the residents of Nhlambeni, there was no way of leaving the community without crossing the river. No vehicle has been able to leave the area since the river flooded. This is the same river which also enters South Africa and forms a large lake. It is this same river that residents sometimes cross using makeshift canoes or boats. 

Sizwe Shongwe, one of the residents of Nhlambeni, said the area was completely isolated. “We cannot buy anything except salt,” he said. 

He said all the daily needs such as milk and bread were not accessible due to the flooded river, which has made it impossible for vehicles to make deliveries in the area. He said since the river flooded, he had been the one helping residents to cross. He said the only way residents could cross was to get inside the river and walk through it though this was dangerous for others, especially the elderly and children. 

Shongwe was also seen helping an elderly woman cross the flooded river. The elderly woman said she had to cross the river to check on her sickly mother. “I don’t know how I will cross back, I guess I will have to call someone,” she said.  Shongwe said the biggest challenge for residents was access to basic food. He said people were struggling to get bread as delivery trucks could not get to the community. He said the only way bread was being transported was if there were young strong men who would enter the river and then ferry the bread from one end to another. 

He said one has to be at least 1.6 metres tall for the water to be above the shoulders. “Otherwise one could easily drown,” he said. 

He said since the floods began, he had been helping shop owners to receive the bread and then transport it to the other side of the river. 

Meanwhile, several other areas including Ndzingeni and Ntfonjeni have also been cut off. 

On Friday, residents of Nkamanzi attempted to fix a badly damaged road but their efforts were in vain when immediately after they completed it, there was a heavy downpour. Transport operators have not been able to transport commuters efficiently along the roads in these areas. 

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