VERULAM IS BEING DESTROYED RAPIDLY

 

A TOWN THAT WAS ONCE - PRIOR TO 1994 - A BASE OF A NUMBER OF ANTI-APARTHEID FREEDOM LEADERS

 

By Subry Govender

The central business district of the small but historic town of Verulam, north of Durban, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa is deteriorating rapidly and it will not be long before destruction is order of the day.

This is what I witnessed today (March 1 2024) while visiting the town centre to check the aftermath of the ugly protest actions by municipal workers on Wednesday (Feb 28 2024).

 

During their protests for higher wages, the municipal workers went on the rampage and thrashed the main Wick Street and surrounding streets with litter, broken bottles and waste. They emptied the rubbish in the streets without any thought or concern for the environment or for people who are trying to run their businesses.

The municipality had to close its offices and remained shut when I visited again on Friday,  March 1. I was informed by an official that they would only open again for a few hours on Saturday, March 2. They hope to re-start normally on Monday, March 4.

I also found that a number of businesses are trying to operate freely while putting up with the litter and filth pushed to the edges of the streets. Vendors on the main and side streets are also trying to cope with the rubbish strewn everywhere.

The actions of the municipal workers have brought to the fore the rapid degeneration of Verulam over the past few decades. Municipal infrastructure is breaking up at various spots and only recently water was seen flowing onto the main street. This was the latest of the numerous leakages over the past year or so.

 

Workers have dug up the tarmac to fix the latest leakage but the ground is still exposed.

The environmental decay seems to have had a negative impact on owners of buildings and properties in the main and side streets. A number of buildings seem to have lost their sell by date and are being allowed to degenerate.

“Verulam is finished,” one businessman in the main Wick Street street told me.

“Verulam has been destroyed just like other towns and districts like Tongaat, KwaDukuza, Isipingo, Umzinto, Umkomaas and Port Shepstone on the South Coast.”

The rapid destruction of the town is a very sad development because Verulam not only used to be a smart little town with growing businesses and employment but was also a historical town.

The freedom icon of India, Mahatma Gandhi, was imprisoned in the prison here by the former colonial power when he fought against apartheid during his stay in South Africa from the 1880s to the early 1900s. And after 1994, a statue was built near the prison to honour him.  

Verulam also used to boast some leading South African freedom fighters who stayed and also ran their offices in the town. They included leaders of the calibre of Ismail Meer, George Sewpersadh, Paul David, Mewa Ramgobin, and Ela Gandhi – a granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.

These leaders and others who operated from Verulam would be deeply disappointed with the current degenerating status of Verulam.

I wonder if the local Ethekwini Municipality, which is controlled by the ruling ANC, will do anything to revamp the area and make Verulam a place to visit without worrying about filth and rubbish, degeneration, and pick-pockets and plain robbers. Ends – subrygovender@gmail.com March 1 2024