Sewage spill drives customers away from restaurant
Soweto owner furious after city fails to clean up
THE undesirable sight and stench of faecal waste caused by a sewage spill has left Florence Radebe up in arms, after numerous complaints to the City of Joburg have gone unattended.
Radebe runs a restaurant in the Orlando East Community Hall, near Orlando Stadium, which caters for major events throughout the year.
“The sewage spill started last Saturday,” Radebe told The Star. “I reported it the same day and was told that it would be attended to.”
On arrival, The Star’s team were greeted by the nauseating smell of overflowing sewage from two exit points at the hall’s west wing.
Both streams flow past the entrance to Radebe’s restaurant.
“I have to keep my door closed, because flies enter my shop.
“Customers think I am closed for business and go elsewhere because I can’t keep the doors open,” she lamented.
“Nobody is willing to do anything about it. The person from the municipality who is in charge of making sure that these things are sorted out, gave me a response that was neither here nor there, and didn’t specify what they would be doing to fix the leakage,” she said.
According to Radebe, the spill occurred after an event was hosted at the hall two weeks ago.
“I can’t even cook anything, because there is a big chance that the food will be contaminated.
“The person who is responsible for maintaining the hall said there was not much he could do.
“He said he also reported the matter to the municipality,” she said.
Lindi Mnandi, City of Joburg’s recreational officer in that region, said they were aware of the problem and were working towards fixing the burst pipe.
“One of the problems we are facing is that we are understaffed and have one person serving this area. The other employee is on leave,” Mnandi told The Star.
“I reported this matter to our emergency unit, which was meant to come and resolve it. What I know is that the water supply was cut off to stop it (the sewage) overflowing.
“The only thing left is to clean up the faeces,” she said.
Mnandi placed part of the blame at Radebe’s doorstep, saying she too was responsible for ensuring that the area is cleaned up, as she had done all she could to alleviate it.
“I can’t say that cleaning will take place because, as I mentioned earlier, there is only one person who is currently working (here).
“Florence is also requested to assist in that aspect, because we can’t do everything by ourselves at the moment,” she said.
I can’t cook over risk of contamination