Disgruntled locals fed up with ‘disgusting’ town

LYDENBURG – Tourists from the Netherlands who visited the town over the holiday season described it as “de smerigste en lelijkste stad op de route. Het is zo verdrietig”.

The Van Dijk couple, in short, explained their statement and said that it simply translates into this town being the “filthiest and ugliest town on the route. It’s so sad”. Locals, however, agree. Disgruntled residents took to social media to express their utter disgust with the current state of Lydenburg.

“How can you be proud of this? This town is filthy and disgusting. The electricity is more off than it is on and roads are worse than ever. Do they (Thaba Chweu Local Municipality) have no pride whatsoever?” one anonymous reader commented.

Other complaints soon followed. Theo Bezuidenhout said where he stays in Lydenburg Street, there is a pipe that has been leaking for more than a week.

“TCLM had three employees sitting under a tree for three days with a small 12-volt pump not even capable of draining a small pond, trying to drain the hole. Three days, three people, one bakkie idling. A waste of the taxpayers’ money.”

Ulrica de Beer said on Facebook that the state of the town is shocking. “Everyone I talk to wants to leave this place, including us.” Steelburger/Lydenburg News took to the streets to take photos of the areas that residents pointed out.

The tar in Voortrekker Street, one of the main entrances to town, has started to lift up to half a metre high on account of damage created by trucks. In the same street the pavement has also lifted and collapsed into part of the road.

At Hoërskool Lydenburg, on the corner of Eeufees and Kerk streets, water repairs that took place several months ago left a gaping hole at the stop sign. Old barrier tape has not been removed nor has the gaping hole been fixed. On various roads in town, potholes have become so old that weeds are growing out of them.

The town is riddled with refuse and rubble for “repairs” that was done by TCLM months and even years ago. Storm drainage systems are overgrown with grass and weeds and filled with refuse. Steelburger/Lydenburg News conveyed the messages received to the municipality in a bid to find out if anything will be done with regard to the current state of the town.

Themba Sibiya, communications manager of TCLM said the municipality has a schedule for waste collection in the towns and townships. “Waste is collected, except for certain days when one of our trucks breaks down. Only the scheduled times gets affected, but we do collect.”

He said a programme schedule to cut grass in all public spaces is in place. “Since it is rainy season, the grass grows back much quicker hence there is a programme in place to rectify the situation. To say this is the dirtiest town is an exaggeration, though we admit that we need to intensify our cleaning programme.”