Dunbar development
full steam ahead

Project Manager Lawrence Pato (left), Nivan Sukan of Devru Construction and Community Liaison Officer Sydney Ngidi are part of the team which is bringing a better way of life
to the Dunbar community.

The development of housing units in the Dunbar informal settlement is still on track. A group of local contractors have been recruited to fast track the construction of 144 units at the Booth Road housing project, which is mainly for people who have to be relocated as a result of infrastructure that needs to be put in place before construction of housing in Dunbar.

It is anticipated that construction of the first housing units will commence in May this year.

Devru Construction has commenced with the construction of the loop road and sewer that will link Wiggins Road and Dunbar Road.

The participation of local contractors at the Booth Road housing project is viewed as a training experience that will prepare them for the construction of the units in Dunbar.
Efforts to invite building material suppliers to tender for supplying of materials to emerging contractors are well underway.

“We want the contractors to purchase the materials at controlled prices so that their participation will be profitable,” said Lawrence Pato, Dunbar project manager.

Workshops to keep the community informed about the development are continuing, and the sale of houses has begun.

Residents are asked to be co-operative and come forward with relevant information promptly to avoid delays.

“So far it has been difficult to communicate with the community because they don’t turn up for meetings. It is understandable as too many meetings and promises have been made and broken – but this time we mean business,” said Lawrence, who urged Dunbar residents to attend meetings.

Gang target car owners in KwaMasixhawulane

A gang of thieves believed to be operating from a base somewhere in Insimbini is wreaking havoc by breaking into people’s cars. More than twenty car owners have been hit by the gang. The gang specialises in breaking into cars and helping itself to whatever is inside the car from condoms to stereos. It is alleged that the stereos are sold to pawn shops in town. The money is then used to buy hard drugs.

Car owners in the Wiggins precinct are at a loss for words because there seems to be no protection from the gang. The thieves hit during the early hours of the morning. But luck seems to have run out for some of the gang . Last week one member of the gang was apprehended and beaten senseless by community members who later handed him over to the police. The Cato Manor Police have appealed to all victims to come forward and claim their goods.

Titus Khuboni of KwaMasixhawulane, a victim of the car break-ins, said: “I think it is time we organised ourselves into community neighbourhood watch as they do in places such as Bonela. Maybe we need to pay a private security company to patrol the streets at night. It is not safe anymore. Replacing the broken car windows is expensive.”

The car gang is believed to be separated from the notorious faceless ‘Izintandane’. The modus operandi used by Izintandane is more daring. Izintandane prefer to cause mayhem by raping,assaulting and robbing their victims before murdering them.

The CMDA suffered a minor setback when thieves held the security guards at gun point and disappeared into the night with more than eight computers valued at R120 000. Work has been slowed down due to the theft as most of them carried valuable information. Most staff at the CMDA had to spend the day doing filing as they could not access crucial information that enables them to deliver a professional service to clients.

Fortunately most computers have a back-up system which saves the information from being completely lost in case of power failure or other unforeseen circumstances. The CMDA is apparently not the only company to have suffered this fate. Businesses on Ridge Road have also been hit.

“It appears that the robberies are the work of a syndicate that has targeted isolated office blocks in the area,” commented Sgt Ngema of the Cato Manor Police. “We feel especially offended because the CMDA robbery happened right under our noses. We are not even 500 metres apart. The police are still searching for clues that may lead to the arrest of the armed robbers.”

Multi-Purpose Centre
In another incident goods that were stolen from the Multi-Purpose Centre have been recovered thanks to community members who were actively involved in tracking them down, and police have apprehended a suspect. Meanwhile in Chesterville, goods belonging to Ukukhanya Kwelanga Primary valued at R8 000 were also returned by someone who had bought them from ‘ebafaneni’.

Negotiations between Highway Radio and CMDA to have Siyaya FM broadcast twice a week have yielded success. Siyaya Radio listeners all over Cato Manor will begin to enjoy the twice a week broadcasts as from Sunday 6 April.
Broadcast times are Wednesdays between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm. The second broadcast will be on Sundays at the same time. Siyaya FM broadcasts on 101.5 FM.

Siyaya FM was launched in September last year to bring development news closer to the people of Cato Manor. Programmes are put together by a team of 15 reporters from the various Cato Manor communities.

The Siyaya team is currently drafting a constitution and a business plan that will enable them to become a legal entity.
According to Scelo Xulu, a member of the steering committee, Siyaya FM will have its offices at Intuthuko Junction as from May this year.

"We think this move will bring us closer to the communities we serve," said Scelo.

Since its introduction, Siyaya has had a few teething problems. One of the major problems that the team faces is that at times elected representatives of communities tend to hold back certain information. This becomes detrimental to listeners because they are kept in the dark.