Residents of a street that divides Extension 3 and 4 in Promosa have had enough of living amid an ongoing sewage issue. According to them, the problem has been ongoing for seven or eight years.
“Our ward councillor and the municipality are well aware of our issue,” Oupanyana Maake, one of the residents, explained. “We have voiced our concerns to them, but it has never been resolved.”
The community says the sewage has become so bad that the entire road is impassable. “You can’t walk on the road because of the foamy grass and sewage that has settled on it.” Oupanyana, who used to be a self-employed mechanic, has had to stop work altogether due to this issue. “It is impossible for any car to pass here,” he explained. “Even my car needs a service, but there is no use because I won’t be able to drive it out of here.”
Whether it’s for a funeral, an am-bulance to pick up a sick patient or a guest looking to park their car safely, it is impossible for anyone to move through. According to Christina Majoro, an-other resident, even schoolchildren are inconvenienced by the issue. “For their safety, we have to walk them along the road to meet their school transport every morning,” Christina said.
Residents say they have grown tired of being unheard. They hope that approaching the Herald as their last resort will bring a resolution. “We have knocked on countless doors, pleading for our situation to be looked at, but no one seems to care,” Vuyelwa Mandla said.
“Our ward councillor has promised that he would at least come and assess the issue but, to date, he has not cared to set foot here.” “Instead, they live comfortably in their areas while we suffer,” another resident, Joseph Saudi, added. The residents explained that due to the current lack of water, the sewage has subsided slightly. “Although the smell is bad, it tends to get worse with water overflowing when-ever people use their toilets,” Vuyelwa said.
“We pay for these services; they aren’t doing us a favour.” To survive the conditions, residents wear gumboots to keep safe. “It has been over two years since the municipality was last here; we desperately need help,” another resident added. The residents plead with the municipality to attend to the matter ur-gently. “People are getting sick, and our children cannot play around the area,” she added. The Herald asked the municipality for comment, but none was forth-coming by the time of print
