Sewage keeps residents in Ext 17, eMbalenhle, awake at night
Family asks if GMM has an environmental department to ensure that the municipality complies with environmental laws.
Residents in Ext 17 are having sleepless nights because of sewage flooding their homes and yards.
According to them, the sewage spills have been reported numerously to councillors and the Govan Mbeki Municipality, but to no avail.
Thembeka Poco and his family now only use their home to sleep in.
“We cannot use our toilet. Our house might collapse at any moment because it is flooded by sewage and the municipality is not willing to fix it.
“My family has no choice but to sleep in the house, but we are afraid. “The municipality is exposing us to diseases,” said Poco.
Other residents are also tired of living in sewage spills that are endangering their lives.
“We wish the municipal management can feel what we are experiencing.
Bongani Forty is living with his aged parents who are living on meagre pensions. He said his parents have been coughing since the beginning of the spills.
“Our municipality doesn’t care about its residents’ health, how can they neglect their sewerage network like this?” asked Forty.
He questioned if GMM has an environmental department to ensure that the municipality complies with environmental laws.
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“If they respect the country’s laws that govern the environment, how can they allow people to be exposed to hazardous sewage spills?” wailed Forty.
Lucky Mhlongo, acting communications manager at the municipality said they are attending to the problem.
“Most common causes of sewer blockages are foreign objects that have been flushed down the toilets.
“As a short-term solution, we have on numerous occasions used a jet truck to unblock the sewer by pumping out the sewage.
“Residents are encouraged to use the call centre as and when they experience these things for a prompt response,” said Mhlongo.
