City residents at their wits’ end, are begging the municipality to attend to damaged infrastructure.
RESIDENTS across the city have pleaded with the Sol Plaatje Municipality to respond to reports of damaged infrastructure, ranging from leaking pipes to overflowing sewage manholes.
“Problems are reported time and time again but there is just no response from the municipality,” residents have stated.
A Moghul Park resident is at her wits’ end after an underground leak, just outside her boundary wall, has turned the ground into a marshy swamp.
The resident said on Wednesday that the leak, which has been there for more than a month already, was reported to the municipality, but nothing has been done.
“We have reported it on numerous occasions but the municipality hasn’t even been out to assess the situation. It is now becoming a health and safety issue as the children play in the water.”
She added that the ground around the leak was soggy and soft, while her boundary wall was also being damaged as a result of the constantly wet conditions.
“It is an underground leak which is steadily becoming worse. One can actually see the water bubbling up from under the ground.”
Meanwhile, residents in Cassandra are battling with a sewerage problem in David Harris Avenue.
“As I have reported to the Sol Plaatje Municipality sanitation officials on a number of occasions there is a sewerage line behind my house that has been broken for quite some time. This allows raw sewage to flow directly into the stormwater trench leading to Blanckenbergvlei and Du Toit’s Pan,” the resident said.
He pointed out that this was a health hazard and an environmental incident which could have dire consequences.
“It can also lead to reputational damage for the Sol Plaatje Municipality, especially when people start to complain about the constant stench hanging over the suburb.”
According to the resident, he alerted the municipality to the situation in April already and requested the regular flushing out and general maintenance of the sewerage system in the suburb.
“I have also requested that the municipality see to the general upkeep of stormwater trenches in the area to minimise unnecessary call-outs and damage control.”
He stated that these requests had not been heeded and currently, the manhole in the cul-de-sac is overflowing with raw sewage which is starting to pool up.
“This is a serious health risk to the residents, some of whom have small children who used to play in this area but who now have to go elsewhere for a recreational area, especially to ride with their bicycles.”
He stated that his wife had phoned the call centre repeatedly to get someone from the sanitation department to attend to the problem but so far she has had no positive feedback or even a site visit from anyone.
“The rainy season is almost upon us and with the blocked drainage trench the rainwater will build up and push back into our yards again, and this time it will take the raw sewage that is steadily pooling in the cul-de-sac with it into our yards.”
He pointed out that the situation was becoming worse but with a little bit of planning and preventive action a serious problem can be averted.
“The Sol Plaatje Municipality does not have a sterling reputation amongst the majority of its rate-paying residents for service delivery, and allowing this type of situation to just escalate is not doing it any favours either. Cassandra in general used to be a good area to live in and to raise a family for residents from all walks of life, but the municipality’s inaction to do basic preventative maintenance and repairs is causing the residents to lose all faith in the ability and the competence of their city fathers to solve basic maintenance issues for which the residents are paying rates and taxes.
“A sincere plea from me … please do what you as a municipality have to do to keep your rate-paying residents from leaving this city.”
Municipal spokesperson Thoko Riet said teams would be sent out to access the situation in both suburbs.
