Sewage makes life miserable for Hoedspruit residents

A resident in Raptor’s View Wildlife Estate told the Herald that the stench in the estate is unbearable. “We cannot breathe. We have lived here for four years, and this is the worst it’s been. I must have burned a thousand candles to get some relief from the stench.” She said photos she took of the overflow show that the pipes might be damaged. “The generator also did not kick in this whole weekend with load-shedding.” James Cary, manager of Raptors View, said residents are severely affected by the spillage of sewage. “It has been ongoing for a long time. When it overflows, it pushes up and flows in to the estate and Southern Cross Schools (SCS). “It is hard to breathe, and it also attracts mosquitos,” he said. He said a dam on the estate is also filled with sewage.

“We were told that there was a faulty cable and it would be repaired on Thursday, September 7. “I passed there around 12:00 but I did not notice any work being done and the sewage was still overflowing,” he said. In July, the Herald reported on the Democratic Alliance (DA) lodging a complaint to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over a large sewage spill near the LeBamba fruit and vegetable supermarket in Ward 1. The DA said that despite numerous oversight visits and complaints to the technical department of the Mopani District Municipality (MDM), no feedback was received and residents and businesses in the area had to deal with the sewage overflowing for more than five months. “The continuous flow of sewage has caused an unbearable stench and is impacting businesses in the area negatively.

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The sewage spill further poses a serious health risk,” Christine Du Preez, DA Ward 1 councillor said at the time. MDM is the water authority in the district and is responsible for the maintenance and management of the sewage system in Hoedspruit. “It is failing dismally to fulfill its responsibility,” she said. The Mopani District Municipality (MDM) has been reported to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) by the Freedom Front (FF Plus) for not completing the Kampersrus water supply project. The FF Plus’ councillor in the Maruleng Local Municipality (MLM), Pieter Gerber, has filed a complaint with the HRC after the promised that the Kampersrus water supply project would be completed by June. He said the project fell through the cracks, even after they met with the mayor of MLM, Tsheko Musolwa, on May 3 to find a way forward.

“In 2010, a large-scale sewage treatment plant and water supply project, the Kampersrus water supply and sewage scheme, was started. Since 2017, the project has been indicated as 98% complete in reports, but the right size transformer has been lacking. During a community meeting in May this year, the mayor and Paradise Shilowa, director for water services at the MDM, informed residents that the installation of the transformer would take place by June. On August 23, a community meeting was organised again where representatives of the MDM shone in their absence and the mayor could not provide answers,” said Gerber. Meanwhile, the community of Kampersrus has been without water for days. “The FF Plus requests the HRC to ensure that the project is completed so that the communities of Kampersrus and Schocia can get their basic right to water, as well as a working sewage treatment plant.

“MDM must now be called to account for the violation of residents’ basic right to sufficient water and a clean environment to live in,” he added. On their Facebook page, MLM addressed the issues raised at the meeting in Kampersrus. “In this meeting, it was confirmed by Gerber that the borehole which was not operational had been fixed and there are now two boreholes which (are) functional and as such the water challenges are very minimal. With regard to the supply of bulk water it was clarified and confirmed that for the current financial year 2023/24, MDM budgeted R19m to address the water challenges on a permanent basis,” it said. The mayor further indicated that the Kampersrus Community Hall and the speed humps, among other issues, will be finalised soon as they are waiting for the financial year to commence in July.

Regarding the delay in the construction of the Kampersrus internal road, MDM said that the delay was due to permission needed for indigenous to be removed. “The project will be finalised as soon as the trees are removed and (we are) looking forward to extending it to the Mariepskop Primary School road as per the 2023/24 municipal budget,” said the mayor in the Facebook post. Herald contacted MDM spokesperson, Odas Ngobeni, with regards to the water project. At the time of going to print, a response was not received. An update will be published once MDM responds.