Mayoral committee visits problem areas in Govan Mbeki Municipality
The Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlement committed a budget of R53 million towards addressing the sewer spillages specifically in eMbalenhle in the past three years but the sewer spillages became worse.
The Govan Mbeki Municipality’s executive mayor, Nhlakanipho Zuma, and his mayoral committee went on community outreach on Monday, October 10, where they visited areas with service delivery challenges in eMbalenhle and eMzinoni.
Zuma first visited Ward 12 in eMbalenhle where the community raised concern about their safety during summer when the low-water bridge in their neighbourhood is usually flooded.
This issue was noted during an Integrated Development Plan (IDP) consultation meeting held last month.
Zuma told the municipal manager, Elliot Maseko, the bridge is an urgent matter because the rainy season has begun.
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The mayor also visited a road flooded by sewage in Ward 14. The residents have been complaining this for some time and the road now looks more like a sewage dam.
Motorists said it is unusable because the sewages damage their vehicles. According to the municipality, the sewer system in most parts of eMbalenhle has collapsed because of pipes and manholes.
The municipality has advertised for tenders for the reconstruction of all collapsed manholes and sewer lines in eMbalenhle.
GMM and the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlement have spent millions of rands to refurbish the sewerage network in eMbalenhle.
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The Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlement committed a budget of R53 million towards addressing the sewage spills, specifically in eMbalenhle in the past three years, but this has worsened.
Also, the former Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Dr Zweli Mkhize, visited Mandela Section and Ext 18 to inspect and monitor the progress of the project aimed at dealing with the sewerage crisis in the area.
He was not impressed with the work of the contractor at the time and told the contractors to improve their quality of work but still the community is experiencing sewer spills.
Zuma and his mayoral committee also conducted a sod-turning ceremony for the construction of 107 low-cost houses under the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements’ emergency intervention programme in eMzinoni and eMbalenhle.
