Eight years of nauseating stench

LYDENBURG – For years residents in Extension 2 have been subjected to what can only be describes as inhumane conditions.

This extension is constantly powerless and flooded by sewage and nothing seems to be done about the shocking decline of this area in town. For the past eight years, residents have been living next to what can only be described at a sewage swimming pool which has been leaking into the Dorps River which flows through the town.

The Mega Housing Group, a division of the Mpumalanga Government, promised to build a new sewerage pump station. But Mega Housing Group has since gone bankrupt – and for eight years the huge excavation that took place for the pump station has been left unattended.

https://steelburgernews.co.za/231550/breaking-news-sewerage-plant-non-operational-weeks/

DA MP and resident in this extension, Farhad Essack told Steelburger/Lydenburg News that the tragedy is that year on year Thaba Chweu Local Muncipality (TCLM) has budgeted for basic maintenance repairs to be done.

“TCLM does not have the will to do basic services to maintain this particular area in town. Like the rest of Lydenburg, most funds received through rates and taxes are generated by wards 14 and 2. Yet, this ANC-led municipality does not consider nor realise that the failure of basic service delivery affects the community that pays almost the most of the amount of money into its coffers.”

He said the only solution to this problem is to get to the ballot box on May 8 to finally put an end to the corruption, malpractice and inhumane conditions being experienced by residents in this town.

https://steelburgernews.co.za/266749/towns-water-unfit-consumption/

Themba Sibiya, communications manager of TCLM said there is currently work in progress for connecting new pipelines that were linked to the old pump station. “These are now being connected into the new one. Broken manholes covers are a result of the work that’s underway. It will be cleared once the work is complete. It is being attended to and will be done before the long weekend.”

Sibiya said the rubble heap at the entrance of this extension is on account of work being done to decommissioning the old pump station. He confirmed that it will be cleared soon.

He also added that the Department of Community Services developed a cleaning programme for the affected areas in TCLM which also covers the area in question. Sewage is damaging the ecosystem

According to www.quora. com faeces, in general, is full of infectious organisms. When untreated waste enters a water system like a river in which humans bath, swim, or drink, these organisms can gain entry to a new host, perpetuating its survival and sickening susceptible individuals. This is a common strategy of microbes and parasites present in faeces, because one infected individual can expose many susceptible people through contaminated water.

There are many examples, but the most recent is that of the September 2018 cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe.