School in eMzinoni battles with sewage problem for 15 years
Municipality blames vandalism for sewerage problem.
The principal of MD Coovadia Combined School, Gerhard Burger, does not know what to do anymore about the sewage problems outside his school.
Burger said the volumes of sewage flowing from Milan Park and Ext 23 of eMzinoni ends up in a ditch at heir school where the children play.
“They play soccer close to the sewage outflow. When the ball falls into the mess, they just pick it up and carry on playing. It is a huge health risk for us,” said Burger.
He said the smell coming from the sewage is unbearable. Burger has been fighting this battle with the municipality for 15 years and he has made numerous phone calls for help.
DA councillor Desire Kranz visited the school recently and took the matter further with the municipality.
“The municipality is not keeping to their promise to fix it. The relevant department now says it is not their problem. It is unacceptable that children have to go to school in such conditions,” said Kranz.
The municipality allegedly received a grant to fix this sewerage problem, but although municipal officials visited the school and looked at the problem, nothing has been done yet.
Burger said there is a pump station at the school and the talk of the town is that the nearby farm where that sewage is supposed to be pumped to is not working. He even contacted the Department of Education, who is also aware of the problem.
Donald Green, spokesperson of Govan Mbeki Municipality, said the Executive Mayor Nhlakanipho Zuma visited several pump stations in the area on August 11 as part of the Ijima Iokuhlwengisa service delivery programme.
“Some of the pump stations have been affected by theft and vandalism resulting in overflows and blockages in the network, including the one in Milan Park,” said Green.
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“Operating equipment was stolen, the standby power supply generator badly damaged, and parts were stolen. The municipality condemns these actions of theft and vandalism in the strongest terms.
“We cannot tolerate the actions of opportunistic criminals whose selfish and destructive acts directly impact service delivery to residents. A full cost analysis is being conducted.
“The municipality does not have a limitless budget and damage caused by vandalism is a big drain on our resources. The team is working continuously to ensure that the pump stations operate at the highest capacity possible.
“Teams continue to clear blockages, which cause overflows. We will continue to do so in efforts to minimise the impact on residents.
“Furthermore, the municipality will continue to investigate and implement contingency measures wherever possible.”
The Ridge Times also asked Green about the grant the municipality allegedly received, but he did not answer the question.
