Eastdene residents have complained of yet another week’s ongoing sewage pollution and the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality remains mum on when the upgrades, with a budget of R17 million approved according to a previous council agenda, will commence.

Eastdene residents are no strangers to the nauseating stench of raw human effluent that freely contaminates the natural water body running past one of the area’s most densely populated schools.

The suburb has suffered under consistent sewer leaks that were reported on for well over four years.

The leaks have been attributed to the incapacity of the two current sewer lines responsible for transferring effluent from the heavily populated areas like Rockdale, Nasaret, Hlahlamnandi and Industrial and the promised upgrades remain the best solution offered by the municipality to bring an end to the pollution.

The upgrades, however, were put on ice since 2018 while the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality waited on the approval of a water usage license and was further stalled by continuous municipal strikes as well as the backlogs they caused on service delivery.

Since the municipal strike’s draw to closure in September, no news was received by STLM on when these upgrades will be sparked into action despite several blockages being reported to the Department of Water and Sanitation over the course of the last two months.

The Middelburg Observer has directed an inquiry to the municipality’s communication office and awaits response.

The leakages experienced in Eastdene have also been reported.