R300K damage to sewage works

From Page 3

Meanwhile, the municipality’s infrastructure portfolio committee meeting earlier this month recalled the disaster of June 2016, when the pump station at the James Kleynhans treatment works was flooded and Grahamstown, on the eve of the National Arts Festival, faced extensive water outages.

An agenda item referred to the incident saying the right number of qualified staff was needed at the facility to avert the risk of it happening again.

Ramokolo this week confirmed that the staff member responsible for the incident was dismissed; however she could not reveal the staff member’s name because of confidentiality requirements.

Vandalism

In the same meeting, it was noted that vandalism to the Belmont Waste Water Treatment Works in June would cost around R300 000 to repair. Electrical components were vandalised and pumps were damaged due to cable theft.

Until equipment is replaced, Ramokolo explained this week, pumping is being done manually which results in overflows.

While several upgrade projects were mentioned in the 17 August agenda, Belmont sewage works did not feature.

Ramokolo this week said the facility’s upgrade, was funded by DWS through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) for the 2017/2018 financial year.

“All the procurement processes are done by the department,” Ramokolo said.

The town’s water and sewage crises come against the backdrop of staff, particularly in water and sanitation, digging in their heels on overtime restrictions.

At the August meeting, officials spoke of unnofficial go-slows and no-shows, but also of a shortage of vehicles and equipment that made the situation worse.