JULY RIOTS | Tongaat, where hope is washed away by unrest and floods

In his two small suitcases, Busani Mthethwa carried what little clothing he had left and five copies of his CV in brown envelopes.

When the salon he worked at was razed to the ground during the July unrest, 28-year-old Mthethwa was confident it would be rebuilt and his job would be safe again.

The deadly floods that battered KwaZulu-Natal in April washed away any hope he had of starting his life again in Tongaat.

“There is no life here. We are just people, left behind. No-one can move forward here. I never thought I would ever leave Tongaat, but I have to find a job in Johannesburg to survive,” Mthethwa said a few days before he moved away.

While other communities have shaken off the feeling of helplessness, almost year after the July unrest Tongaat residents are still “helpless, hopeless and angry”.

Tongaat, the town north of Durban known as a sugar-producing district, has been hit by a double whammy — the riots and April floods.

A year ago, residents watched their town looted and major retail stores torched. Nine months later, the floods left many families homeless, destroyed infrastructure and left residents fighting for their basic right to water.

“Soon after the looting and rioting everything just got worse, not forgetting Covid-19 before this. Clean-up operations were on the way and this took a couple of days more. Tongaat had actually come to a standstill and people were still reeling from what had just happened around us. And then the floods happened. Tongaat is in a mess to say the least,” said Chelmsford Heights Civic Association chair Krishna Reddy.

Reddy described how water had become more valuable than gold as taps still run dry.

“There are fights and arguments regarding water. The people have lost their patience, they have become fed up and they just can’t take any more of this.”

Belvedere Civic Association chair Logan Naidoo said the July unrest was staged quite differently in Tongaat.

“The town did not succumb to any violent confrontations or incidents. This is because of the harmonious relationship that existed between the communities in Tongaat. The greatest impact was felt on the key retail infrastructure that was damaged.”

Life changed for many communities that had jobs at these shopping centres.

“Social welfare demand has increased with more people dependent on welfare for their daily living needs. Also many residents have to now travel long distances to access food and other necessities,” he said.

Then the floods happened.

“Undeniably the floods have most certainly lowered the morale of many residents. The suffering of the most vulnerable has compounded, making them feel entrapped in misery and pain. Tongaat was on an optimistic developmental trajectory. The first floods set us back, and within a month the second floods decimated and crushed the morale of the most vulnerable. They are living in halls with no water and many have lost a lot of valuable belongings,” Naidoo said. 

Tongaat was already struggling before the unrest.

“Tongaat was struggling in the economic sense, with many jobs being lost in the textile industry. However, the community organisations rallied together to offer much service to the indigent. Many civic and NGO bodies were assisting to catalyse job creation through various projects.” 

“When one does a broad overview taking note of the burnt retail complexes, the damage from the flooding and the lack of water for the past 60 days and the general mood and feelings of the people, one can’t help but perceive the town to be ‘broken’. However, this community is very resilient and has always had the courage and strength to bounce back. I think our community-based organisations are doing their best to uplift the spirits of the community and reinstall faith and hope in a battered community,” Naidoo said.

DA ward councillor Yogis Govender said the financial and emotional toll of the unrest lingered.

“Financially, many jobs were lost, business closed and people have fallen on hard times with food and utilities being unpaid.

“The emotional and mental anguish was deeply scarring and remains embedded in many communities. We will never forget the absolute terror that reigned in Tongaat for that period. Gunfire ringing for weeks and bullets smashing into houses, cars, trees randomly. Our entire community was under siege with no assistance.”

She said even now Tongaat is forgotten.

“The Tongaat community is extremely irate and tension is building because eThekwini Municipality isn’t doing enough. Tongaat is treated no better than a slum town as opposed to the once-pristine conditions it was maintained in. There has been a terrible economic decline, constant failure in basic infrastructure such as sewerage, waste services, water and electricity. The innumerable failures to reopen the Tongaat Mall, or ignite and attract new business, is creating despondency among ratepayers and homeowners,” she explained.

Meanwhile Shoprite has not confirmed a date to reopen its store that was torched during the unrest.

“A reopening date for Shoprite Tongaat store has not yet been confirmed, however, no employees lost their jobs. Affected employees were redeployed to work in nearby stores and will be given the option to return when the time comes,” a spokesperson said.