Not only is the Tshwane Council again being accused of poor service delivery, but this time the Council is also accused of being full of sh**, as it is blamed for the sewage waste water running down an Erasmia street for many days.
Residents say that one of the main sewage pipes, which has been blocked for days together with a missing manhole cover, has caused dirty, smelly water together with faeces and toilet paper running in front of their homes. Furthermore, residents in the area claim that efforts to get the attention of Council to urgently fix the problem, have fallen on deaf ears and for that reason have decided to expose the Council’s ‘don’t care attitude’ when it comes to service delivery in Ward 61. The sewage blockage which started towards the latter part of last month has resulted in residents being infuriated as children and pedestrians, tramping on the running sewage water, were stained with the bad stench for days.
Residents added that as the dirty water ran past their driveways, they were forced to drive over the smelly water when driving into their house garages, resulting in their car tyres catching on the awful smell. Notwithstanding the serious health hazard posed to the neighbourhood of Willem Erasmus Street, the Council had a could care less attitude and neglected to attend to the matter urgently, according to residents.
Hasmukh Jivan, of Willem Erasmus Street told the Laudium Sun, “This sewage water leak from the blocked drain is really frustrating and shows ignorance on the part of the Council. Many residents, like us, have reported the blocked manhole drain, but no one has come to address it. This is disgusting—dirty water, toilet paper, and faeces are spilling out from the drain. The place is filthy, and the smell is unbearable. We can’t believe this kind of poor service from the Council. We pay rates and taxes, yet we have to live in such an environment. All the politicians are the same—they make big promises but act so small when it comes to service delivery. I’m really tired of the poor service from the Council. I hope they come to fix the manhole drain soon. It feels like the faeces are just roaming around, and we can’t even walk to the shop or anywhere without being affected. The worst part is the disgusting smell. I’m old, and many elderly people live here, so it’s really bad for our health too. I urge Councillor Patel to fix this issue as quickly as possible. It’s so sad that Councillor Patel only acts when it appears in Laudium Sun. Why can’t Councillor Patel visit this site before it makes the news? I guess it’s just a lack of interest in serving the community.”
poor service from the Council is unacceptable.
A food stall owner who operates on Willem Erasmus Street, Fanny Selmo told the Laudium Sun, “We’ve reported this leaking drain to the Council, but they still haven’t come to fix the problem. The manhole started leaking a few days ago, and yet no one has addressed it. I’m a vendor selling food mainly to taxi drivers in Erasmia, and I’ve lost many customers because of the stench from the manhole drain. I’ve also lost a lot of money because of this issue.”
Taxi driver James Mabete operating from Willem Erasmus Street, told the Laudium Sun, “It’s really terrible. We’re losing many customers because of the blocked manhole drain. People are avoiding our taxis because of the bad smell. A lot of toilet water and faeces are spilling out, and it’s truly disgusting. The Councillors need to come and see this for themselves, so they understand how it’s affecting our business and health.”
Another taxi owner, Joel Bomoko, told the Laudium Sun, “This blocked drain problem must be fixed immediately. We don’t want to resort to violence, but we know how to handle things if necessary. The Councillor must take action now, and we demand that it be fixed.” The Laudium Sun was told that Cllr Patel was out of the country due to health issues. Attempts to get hold of Cllr Ramjee were unsuccessful. The Laudium Sun then called the relevant Council offices during the previous week and was assured that the matter would receive priority.
things if necessary.
*At the time of going to press residents confirmed that the drain had now been unblocked, but remained disappointed with the poor service of the Council and requested that the matter still be exposed.