Three years on Ga-Rankuwa residents still struggle with foul sewerage smell
“The metro told me they do not have the budget to refurbish the pipe again since other parts of Ga-Rankuwa also had blocked pipes.”
Ga-Rankuwa residents had to put up with a foul-smelling sewerage leak for three years now, reportedly thanks to budget issues.
The sewerage leak in question is located at the GaRankuwa Arts and Crafts centre in Zone 6 and overflows all the way to the Phedisong clinic.
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“I have reported the leak to the metro numerous times before,” ward councillor Floyd Thema told Rekord.
“Last month they replaced the old pipe with a new one, but the pipe had burst again.”
“The metro told me they do not have the budget to refurbish it again since other parts of Ga-Rankuwa also had blocked pipes,” he said.
“I have lost all hope in the municipality,” said local resident Lethabo Malebe.
“These pipes have been spilling waste for a long time now,” she said.
“Unfortunately one cannot get used to the awful smell. We have to bear with it every day of our lives.”
Another resident named Anna (who did not wish to provide her surname), said she was more concerned about patients at the clinic “who had to inhale the sickening smell while waiting in queues to get assisted”.
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She told Rekord she must keep her windows and doors closed all the time to block out the smell.
“I feel like a prisoner in my own home,” said Anna.
“We do not know who to turn to anymore. We are desperately in need of help.”
The Tshwane metro did not reply to Rekord’s requests for comments by the time of going to print.
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