Durban - Pietermaritzburg will be celebrating its 185th anniversary in October and historians say the capital is a far cry from the jewel it was decades ago.
In its neglected cemeteries lie history makers who had a vision of a well run, thriving city. Some say there’s little to celebrate as little or no effort is being made to stop the rot.
Marred by ongoing service delivery issues, unmaintained heritage sites and buildings and crumbling infrastructure, local historian Simon Haw said Pietermaritzburg, named after Pieter Retief and Gert Maritz, was once a charming small city.
“It was also a segregated one in which races were kept strictly apart, although there was much greater pushback than in many other cities. “For instance, the city resisted all efforts by the central government to have the residents of Sobantu township relocated.
In my view, one of the best times for PMB was the 1990s. I worked in the centre of town and things were much freer as a result of the crumbling of apartheid,” said Haw.
In its first few years, although the streets had been surveyed and in some cases named after streets in Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg was empty with only a few cottages lining some streets. However, the size of the town started increasing when there were schemes to bring out settlers from Britain from 1849 to about 1851.
Haw said it was then that the town’s character changed from a Boer village to a Victorian town in which the bulk of the white population were English-speaking. “By 1879, Pietermaritzburg was bigger than Durban, but this rapidly changed in the 1890s and first decade of the 20th century,” he said. Haw added that the town was best known for its red brick Victorian buildings, with the city hall one of the most iconic in the country.
“It also has the distinction of having been the site of meetings addressed by luminaries like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. “Of course, it was at the Pietermaritzburg station that Gandhi was thrown off the train, leading to his formulation of Satyagraha, the philosophy of passive resistance. “Mandela also addressed his last meeting in the city before his capture in 1962.
“It was also the birthplace of Alan Paton, the author of Cry the Beloved Country, and it was in Pietermaritzburg that he, together with others, formed the Liberal Party.” Haw believed the crumbling of the city was partly caused by politicians who were self-absorbed and concerned with getting their hands on well-paid positions.
“The constant recycling of failed individuals suggests that there is no real accountability and until that happens the rot will continue. “Equally, there is blatant disregard for the law everywhere apparent. I don’t think citizens know all that much about the town and perhaps that’s because they are too wrapped up in surviving from day to day in what is a pretty chaotic place.”
Hugh Bland, photographer, author and historian, started photographing Pietermaritzburg around 2010 when a decline in cleanliness was already evident. “Being the capital, the city has naturally accumulated a significant number of heritage buildings, churches, cemeteries and the like.
The city has many parks and gardens and buildings steeped in history. “Pietermaritzburg is a particularly important resource with natural beauty as part of the mix. Sadly, most of the beauty spots like Alexandra Park, Camps Drift and the central CBD are no longer the attractions they used to be or should be,” said Bland.
He said there were still gems, such as the Villa San Souci, Town Hill architecture, Garrison Church, the Hindu temples, Pentrich station, Hey-Hutchinson’s Hunting Lodge in Claridge, and The Cedars, as well as the private home in Town Bush Valley, which was a dairy.
He said the origins of the Dusi and Comrades marathons were also of great significance. Bland said the root cause of the state of Pietermaritzburg was cadre appointments by the governing party. He said unqualified personnel filled positions, and too many paid officials were drawing large salaries and adding no value but corruption.
Anthony Waldhausen, chairperson of the Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics, said he was proud of the city as it had a diverse set of cultures, unique historical buildings and because it was a leader in major international and national sporting events.
However, since moving to Pietermaritzburg from Durban in the year 2000, he had seen the city deteriorate significantly. “PMB is under administration for the second time. It is sad how the CBD has become degraded and is falling apart.
“The primary reason for this state of affairs is the political interference and cadre deployment in the running of the city, and there is no political will to turn things around. “What is needed to save our city from the current chaos is to have all stakeholders coming together to chart the way forward with action plans.
But the challenge is that there is no political will to arrest the situation.” Primrose Mbense from The Grange, one of the oldest suburbs in the city, echoed Waldhausen’s sentiments, saying the decay was mainly caused by those in high places who were concerned with lining their pockets.
“I grew up in a green and clean Pietermaritzburg, but now all that our city was is only read about in books. Our city still has a lot of potential and in order to get the jewel back, we have to deal with corruption. “Right now we have nothing to celebrate.”
SUNDAY TRIBUNE