Through a petition, the DA in Steve Tshwete will urge the Municipal Manager, Mandla Mnguni, to attend to persistent sewage spills in Komati, Ward 4.

Despite ongoing concerns raised by the community members over the past few months, the issue remains unresolved and continues to escalate.

It must be noted that this poses a serious health risk to residents in the vicinity and contributes to environmental degradation.

The municipality was alerted about this matter. However, municipal personnel deployed to this area have still not solved the issue.

During an oversight visit, a resident detailed how this has caused significant damage to his water pipes, alleging that the prolonged exposure to sewage has caused impairment to his water system.

Concerningly, residents do not feel safe drinking water from their taps because they fear that they might contract diseases.

For a month now, residents have been exposed to this predicament and they cannot open their windows because of the unbearable odor.

The municipality’s disregard has compromised the health and livelihood of this community.

We have also learnt that the situation worsens whenever there is rainfall.

According to our observations, the sewage spill starts on Heron Street and quickly spreads into other streets in the community.

The DA will not sit back and watch ratepayers being subject to inhuman living conditions.

The ANC administration needs to take accountability and acknowledge that residents have a right to a healthy and sustainable environment.

Therefore, we call on Mandla Mnguni to act with urgency to ensure that this matter is attended to.

The DA will approach Environmental Authorities should the municipality continue turning a blind eye to this crisis.