December is not only a month to celebrate; it’s a month to reflect on the year that is coming to an end, at least for leaders like Ward 116 councillor Adolph Marema.

Looking back at 2025, he said there has been a lot to deal with in his ward, from electricity issues to helping rebuild houses when there are fire incidents and residents lose everything. Having made it a habit to walk about in his ward at least once a week, Marema admitted that his ward, like many others in Alexandra, has been grappling with sewer and storm water drain blockages.

Some issues, he said, would be speedily solved by relevant municipal entities, while others persist for some time. “From time to time, because our ward is on a lower slope, sewage flows down to us, and on a number of occasions it gets blocked. So, Johannesburg Water would do their best from time to time to try and help us.”

Read more: Ward 116 councillor wishes Alex residents a safe and joyous festive season

He said the only thing that would trouble both the residents of his ward and him is if there are blocked storm water drains. “The storm water drains are not cleared, and what follows when it’s blocked, is the erosion of roads. They get damaged because of the clogged storm water drains. So, it causes a whole lot of frustration.”

He added that this is also attributed to the fact that the city lacks enough jet machines to deal with storm water issues urgently. He stressed that this has been the plaguing issue in his ward.

Marema also acknowledged that certain actions among residents in his ward clog the storm water drains. “Our people must also learn that storm water drains are not dumping sites for rubble. It causes more problems.”

Also read: Developments take shape in ward 116

He said people would blame Johannesburg Roads Agency when it is not responding swiftly enough to those issues, but on the other hand, they throw tyres, bricks, rubble, and other foreign objects into the storm water drainage system. He said this should not happen.

While he emphasised that some residents should be educated, he noted that with others it is an issue of character. “Some of these people know that these foreign objects are not supposed to be in those drains. When it rains, it starts to affect people because other people’s homes get flooded.”

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