Residents of Skopas in Khutsong have had to struggle with ongoing sewage leaks since before the previous municipal election in 2021.

“This manhole has been leaking for the past seven years,” lamented an opposition party councillor, Welile Fihla, while standing in the sewage-filled yard of house no. 4783 this week.

The front part of the yard was filled with sewage, while the foul waste also flooded the neighbour’s yard.

This manhole is, however, not the only one in this area that is leaking.

Fihla pointed out that the whole block of about 20 to 30 houses is affected by ongoing sewage blockages.

Although the Merafong City Local Municipality tried to lay some new pipes to solve the problems about a decade ago, this did not help and the sewage is still leaking.

Since this time the municipality has decided to rather hire contractors to remove the excess waste with honey-sucker trucks than to sort out the problems permanently.

“How much is this costing the municipality? Will it not be more cost-effective just to fix the sewer system?” Fihla wondered.

Another problem that is a huge headache for residents in this same area is that the crossing on the route to the nearby Tswasongu Secondary School is so filled with potholes that it makes driving there extremely difficult.

Although the municipality tarred the one street next to the intersection, the intersection itself was not attended to.

Various teachers, parents and scholar transport vehicles have to navigate the terrible potholes every day.

Although the Herald asked the Merafong City Local Municipality about the issues, no feedback was received by printing time.