Sewage dumped outside office of city engineer
IN AN ACT of sheer frustration a Homevalley resident dumped a container of raw sewage outside the office of the city engineer for water and sanitation at Sol Plaatje Municipality pn Friday.
The city engineer was out of office at the time.
A frustrated Joan Barends said that residents in Success Street and surrounding areas were at their wits’ end with regards to the river of sewage that is flowing in front of their homes.
“I have an eight-year-old son and there is a newborn baby living in this street. We dare not open the windows because of the stench and a grandmother who lives in the same street is coughing up blood because of the germs she is exposed to. The sewage is overflowing from the drain in her shower. We are constantly sick.”
Following her visit to the municipal offices on Friday, where she later met with Sol Plaatje executive mayor Pula Thabane and acting municipal manager Ruth Sebolecwe, Barends stated that an inspection had been made of the area, although there was still no improvement.
“The problem has been persisting for the past six months although from September it worsened. Although the municipality reported that it is working on the pipes, no work is taking place there. I will have no other option but to move out of the area. I am fortunate enough to be able to buy drinking water but not everyone is financially able to buy bottled water.”
Residents living in a house at the end of the street are surrounded by a pool of green sewage, where they are unable to make use of their front door.
The six children who are sharing the house with four adults, indicated that the toilet was blocked, where they had to empty the spillage with the use of a bucket.
Homevale residents took to Facebook to voice their desperation regarding the unbearable conditions they are being subjected to.
“Sol Plaatje Municipality is not doing anything about the s*** being spilt and the risk it holds for us residents. We should be gatvol (fed up) right now and stand up for our rights. Let us mobilise and do something about it ... I beg of all residents.”
Residents previously took to the streets and barricaded the road with burning tyres to protest against the sewage situation.
The communications manager at Sol Plaatje Municipality, Sello Matsie, said that while he recognised the challenges and problems faced by members of the public, he advised the community not to take the law into their own hands.
“There are other means of resolving the problem. We advise community members against resorting to this sort of behaviour. We are working on the pipeline and it cannot be fixed overnight. The drains are regularly blocked with objects such as shoes, nappies and other foreign objects.”