Poor service delivery by the various structures of government, is one of the biggest complaints that South Africans have, be it at National, Provincial or Municipal level.
Locally the main complaints against National structures are the poor service provided by the local police, Nafsis student loans and pension payouts, whilst complaints against Provincial structures, are the Laudium Hospital and the state schools. Complaints at Municipal level remain the highest, as it is at this level that ‘bread and butter’ issues are dealt with. Faulty street lights, to long grass on side-walks, to rubbish dumped all over the area, are just some of the many complaints of residents of Ward 61. Recently the increased delay by the Municipality in responding to the opening of blocked drains has also been raised many times by residents, who say that the Tshwane Council simply ignores their pleas to attend promptly to their desperate calls for assistance. Residents have complained that the blocked drains not only causes a foul smell in the area, but that the dirty sewage water running onto the streets from the blocked drains is a serious health and environmental hazard. One of the recent complaints to the Laudium Sun of a blocked drain or leaking sewage that has been going on for some time, which the Council is simply dragging its feet in attending to, is a blocked drain right in front of a house on Mendhi Str, Laudium Ext 2. Speaking to the Laudium Sun, Ishmael Raheem from the Mendhi Str home said, “The water from the drainage has been leaking for days now and upon seeing that our driveway was flooded with water I called my boss, Sadiq Ahmed for a way forward. We then called private plumbers, as we were not getting a response from the Council and we did not want to inconvenience our neighbors, as the water was running down the streets causing a terrible smell. Unfortunately there was nothing the plumbers could do as they informed us that our drains leading to the Council drain were all okay and that even the drainage of our toilets were all open. The plumbers told me that the Municipality was the only one able to open the main drain on the street and told me to call them again, which me and my boss did. However, days later we are still waiting.”
The delay in having the drain in their driveway opened, has caused tensions between the neighbours, as they feel that the problem emanates from the house which Ishmael is responsible for and that he should do whatever is necessary to have the drain unblocked and running free again. Sharing some of the effects of the blocked drain, neighbour Saieda Babamia also of Mendhi Str told the Laudium Sun, “I am usually a busy person and I go to meet people all the time so having filthy and smelly water right next to my house really affects me because the dirty water splashes on my car as I drive down the street and when driving in and out of my house, which causes my car to also have a terrible smell, resulting in me having to have my car washed every two days which I never had to do before. The bad smell of the water has created a big stink and we can’t even keep our windows open during the day, when it is hot. This situation is totally unacceptable.”
Another nearby resident told the Laudium Sun that it was not the first time that such a stink has occurred due to the blocked drain. Dolly Moodley added, “We also had similar situations in the past and each time it happened we had to suffer from the horrible smell especially in the mornings, as the water leak gets worse. I can even smell the stink of the dirty sewage water while I am inside my house. We can’t even open our house windows because of the fear of the smell travelling inside.”
Another neighbour, Zaaibon Ally told the Laudium Sun, “I believe in order to avoid the drains in our area from being blocked in the future, all residents should stop flushing down other things like newspapers in their toilets. Only toilet paper may be used and everyone must frequently maintain the drains on their property by opening them up and checking if water is flowing freely.”
Councillor Naeem Patel told the Laudium Sun that he has escalated the complaint and added, “I have been assured that the blocked drain problem will be sorted out immediately. The drain will be unblocked by the time your paper comes out.”