Visiting the small rural village of Khalimashe near Cofimvaba is like stepping back into medieval times. There is very little sign of modern-day services.
Apart from a few dry taps and water pipes installed by the government last year, residents of Khalimashe have virtually nothing to boast about 20 years into democracy.
There is no road, school, shop, clinic, church building or even basic requirements like running water and electricity.
Nestled in a valley on the banks of the Xolobe River, about 30km from Cofivamba, the only way in or out of the village is along a winding mountain path.
Residents have to travel about 10km, navigating rivers and dense forests, just to connect with the nearest road and the outside world.
The close-knit village, which falls under the Amahlathi Municipality, has less than 18 homesteads and a population of a little over 100.
Its villagers have adopted creative ways to survive.
Sub-headman Thandisile Nkuhlu told a Daily Dispatch team during a visit to Khalimashe last week that residents had converted their iron beds into makeshift stretchers to carry sick relatives up the steep mountain path, which is more than 1km long.
“And when they return from hospital we carry them down again, on our shoulders on those beds,” he said.
“Also when someone is injured, we use a horse to carry them to the next village which has a road from which we can hitch lifts to take them to hospital. Our situation is really painful.”
A disgruntled Nkuhlu said those that had passed on were carried on the makeshift stretchers along the mountain path and, when their coffins returned for burial, the same situation applies. “We have been fighting to get services to no avail. I don’t remember how many times we have been to our municipal offices, but still we are forced to live like this.”
Villagers told the Daily Dispatch that the nearest clinic was located over 15km away, in Khuze village. They said pregnant women were forced to ask for accommodation in Khuze about a month before they were due to give birth. Young children also have to travel long distances to get to the nearest school, along a path which, during the rainy season, involves having to cross a raging Xolobe river.
As a result many, like Tholeka Tshemese and other village children, quit school before getting to high school.
“I couldn't take it any more and decided to drop out of school in Grade 6. Very few people have passed matric in this village,” said the youngster who is now in her early 20s.
Other residents told the newspaper that teenage pregnancy was rife in the village due to the high drop-out rate.
Many children are said to only start their schooling at around the age of 10 due to the long distance they have to travel to get to school.
The village’s oldest resident, Nosawusi Nkuhlu, 92, faces a regular battle to get medication to help her cope with arthritis. She said she could only go to the health facility if there were people available to carry her up the slope as she was unable to travel the long distance on foot.
Although the government installed water taps in Khalimashe last year, not a single droplet of water has come out of them. Villagers continue to share the Xolobe River with animals, as they have done for years.
“Pigs bathe in the same water that we drink but there is nothing we can do about it.
We have begged government to at least build us a road so that cars can come and fetch us here,” she said.
Those who can afford to buy groceries in Cofimvaba have to use donkeys to take it home down the winding mountain path.
Fed up with their situation, villagers approached former Eastern Cape premier and now DA MP Nosimo Balindlela earlier this year.
A shocked Balindlela, who visited Khalimashe on January 3, described the conditions as painful, saying the villagers were being used as voting fodder by an “uncaring” ANC-led government.
“Those people do not know the true meaning of freedom because they have been shunned by their own government.”
Amahlathi Municpality ward councillor in the area Andile Hlalaphi denied the government had forsaken the residents of Khalimashe. He said at least R4.5-million had been set aside to build a proper road to the village.
“The are three other villages that need roads in that municipal ward, just like Khalimashe.
The design for their road has just been completed and I am sure a tender will be put out soon,” he added.
The councillor claimed that no road to the village meant it would have been difficult to install electricity. “You need a road so that cars can go there to install power.”
Commenting on the water situation, he said the village was dependent on the Tsojana Dam in Cofimvaba which was small, and its water supply unreliable.
“They have to first build water storage cells but as soon as that is done, they will be able to bring water to Khalimashe .”
“It’s not that they have not been prioritised. It is surprising that she would come here and claim they have been shunned from service delivery. When she was premier of the province, there were complaints but she never acted on them.”
Some of the residents said they had approached the DA leader as they were hoping her party would be able to put pressure on the government as the country’s official opposition.
Health department provincial spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said, according to the World Health Organisation, the department was only expected to build a clinic where there was a population of around 10000 people.
However he advised residents to approach their local municipality with their concerns.
Education provincial spokesman Loyiso Pulumani meanwhile said every child had a right to a quality education. He said he had forwarded an e-mail sent by the Daily Dispatch on the matter to the department’s top brass so that it could receive attention.
When approached for comment Eskom spokesperson Zama Mpondwana said the village had been included in an Amahlathi Tsomo electrification project two years ago but no road to the village meant it could not be electrified.
Public works spokesman Sisanda George said the department was aware of the situation at Khalimashe but argued that budgetary constraints meant they were unable to attend to the problem.
However, the road had been put on a priority list to be taken care of in the 2015/16 financial year, which begins in April.
“Our regional director and regional road engineer for the department in the Amathole district previously visited the area to listen to the community. We concede that at some stage the road was assessed but budgetary constraints prevented any action from being taken,” he said.
The spokesman revealed that the process of procuring a plant hire contractor for the job had already begun.
Forgotten mountain village
Apart from a few dry taps and water pipes installed by the government last year, residents of Khalimashe have virtually nothing to boast about 20 years into democracy.
There is no road, school, shop, clinic, church building or even basic requirements like running water and electricity.
Nestled in a valley on the banks of the Xolobe River, about 30km from Cofivamba, the only way in or out of the village is along a winding mountain path.
Residents have to travel about 10km, navigating rivers and dense forests, just to connect with the nearest road and the outside world.
The close-knit village, which falls under the Amahlathi Municipality, has less than 18 homesteads and a population of a little over 100.
Its villagers have adopted creative ways to survive.
Sub-headman Thandisile Nkuhlu told a Daily Dispatch team during a visit to Khalimashe last week that residents had converted their iron beds into makeshift stretchers to carry sick relatives up the steep mountain path, which is more than 1km long.
“And when they return from hospital we carry them down again, on our shoulders on those beds,” he said.
“Also when someone is injured, we use a horse to carry them to the next village which has a road from which we can hitch lifts to take them to hospital. Our situation is really painful.”
A disgruntled Nkuhlu said those that had passed on were carried on the makeshift stretchers along the mountain path and, when their coffins returned for burial, the same situation applies. “We have been fighting to get services to no avail. I don’t remember how many times we have been to our municipal offices, but still we are forced to live like this.”
Villagers told the Daily Dispatch that the nearest clinic was located over 15km away, in Khuze village. They said pregnant women were forced to ask for accommodation in Khuze about a month before they were due to give birth. Young children also have to travel long distances to get to the nearest school, along a path which, during the rainy season, involves having to cross a raging Xolobe river.
As a result many, like Tholeka Tshemese and other village children, quit school before getting to high school.
“I couldn't take it any more and decided to drop out of school in Grade 6. Very few people have passed matric in this village,” said the youngster who is now in her early 20s.
Other residents told the newspaper that teenage pregnancy was rife in the village due to the high drop-out rate.
Many children are said to only start their schooling at around the age of 10 due to the long distance they have to travel to get to school.
The village’s oldest resident, Nosawusi Nkuhlu, 92, faces a regular battle to get medication to help her cope with arthritis. She said she could only go to the health facility if there were people available to carry her up the slope as she was unable to travel the long distance on foot.
Although the government installed water taps in Khalimashe last year, not a single droplet of water has come out of them. Villagers continue to share the Xolobe River with animals, as they have done for years.
“Pigs bathe in the same water that we drink but there is nothing we can do about it.
We have begged government to at least build us a road so that cars can come and fetch us here,” she said.
Those who can afford to buy groceries in Cofimvaba have to use donkeys to take it home down the winding mountain path.
Fed up with their situation, villagers approached former Eastern Cape premier and now DA MP Nosimo Balindlela earlier this year.
A shocked Balindlela, who visited Khalimashe on January 3, described the conditions as painful, saying the villagers were being used as voting fodder by an “uncaring” ANC-led government.
“Those people do not know the true meaning of freedom because they have been shunned by their own government.”
Amahlathi Municpality ward councillor in the area Andile Hlalaphi denied the government had forsaken the residents of Khalimashe. He said at least R4.5-million had been set aside to build a proper road to the village.
“The are three other villages that need roads in that municipal ward, just like Khalimashe.
The design for their road has just been completed and I am sure a tender will be put out soon,” he added.
The councillor claimed that no road to the village meant it would have been difficult to install electricity. “You need a road so that cars can go there to install power.”
Commenting on the water situation, he said the village was dependent on the Tsojana Dam in Cofimvaba which was small, and its water supply unreliable.
“They have to first build water storage cells but as soon as that is done, they will be able to bring water to Khalimashe
“It’s not that they have not been prioritised. It is surprising that she would come here and claim they have been shunned from service delivery. When she was premier of the province, there were complaints but she never acted on them.”
Some of the residents said they had approached the DA leader as they were hoping her party would be able to put pressure on the government as the country’s official opposition.
Health department provincial spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said, according to the World Health Organisation, the department was only expected to build a clinic where there was a population of around 10000 people.
However he advised residents to approach their local municipality with their concerns.
Education provincial spokesman Loyiso Pulumani meanwhile said every child had a right to a quality education. He said he had forwarded an e-mail sent by the Daily Dispatch on the matter to the department’s top brass so that it could receive attention.
When approached for comment Eskom spokesperson Zama Mpondwana said the village had been included in an Amahlathi Tsomo electrification project two years ago but no road to the village meant it could not be electrified.
Public works spokesman Sisanda George said the department was aware of the situation at Khalimashe but argued that budgetary constraints meant they were unable to attend to the problem.
However, the road had been put on a priority list to be taken care of in the 2015/16 financial year, which begins in April.
“Our regional director and regional road engineer for the department in the Amathole district previously visited the area to listen to the community. We concede that at some stage the road was assessed but budgetary constraints prevented any action from being taken,” he said.
The spokesman revealed that the process of procuring a plant hire contractor for the job had already begun.
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