BOIPATONG -The ongoing sewer crisis at Lebohang Secondary School has created an unhealthy and unpleasant environment for both learners and teachers, significantly disrupting teaching and learning at the school. According to the school’s Safety and Infrastructure Team, the persistent sanitation problem continues to affect daily activities and the overall well-being of the school community.

The team shared their frustrations during a recent oversight by DA’s Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) mayoral candidate Kingsol Chabalala. They further stated that the sewer spillage sometimes affects the kitchen, where a team of cooks prepares breakfast and lunch for the learners.
They stated that they no longer have recreational facilities as their sporting ground is now riddled with sewage.

“The kids are now opting to play on the pavement in front of the classes. During the rainy season, it gets worse. The situation is negatively impacting teachers, learners, and the rest of the staff working at the school.”

The team mentioned that ELM’s Metsi-a-Lekoa has been trying to resolve the issues; however, there has been no solution.

Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, residents said that they have been plagued by the sewer spillage for years without a real solution. They raised issues including dampness, poor health, and the sight of their dilapidated houses.

Chabalala says residents of Boipatong deserve answers after more than R80m of public money was spent by ELM and the Gauteng Department of Transport and Logistics on the upgrading of Sekati Street, a road along the school, and the resolution of long-standing sewer infrastructure challenges in the area.

“Despite this significant investment, the condition of the road remains unacceptable. Large sections are deteriorating, the road is difficult to drive on, and sewer spillages continue to plague the area. Residents are therefore left asking a simple question, where has their money gone?”

Chabalala said, “This situation is yet another example of poor project management, inadequate oversight, and a failure to ensure value for money for taxpayers. Communities should not have to endure substandard infrastructure after millions of rand have been spent on projects intended to improve their quality of life.”

“The continued failure of ELM to address the ongoing sewage crisis has severely affected teaching and learning at Lebohang High School. The school is regularly flooded with sewage, which flows dangerously close to the kitchen, posing serious health risks to learners and staff.”

“The sports facilities have also been rendered unusable due to the contamination. The situation has escalated to the point where concerned parents have, at times, closed the school gates in protest against the persistent sewage spills and the authorities’ failure to resolve the problem.”

ELM’s spokesperson, Makhosonke Sangweni, said the municipality acknowledges that the infrastructure project is not yet complete to allow sewer flow from Boipatong to Pump Station 4 as intended.

“However, the school has two issues that they are faced with: The matter of the pipe not being completed affects the entire system because it cannot discharge at Pump Station 4. The line directly affecting the school is operational and is not affected by the project. The school has pre-existing reticulation problems that the municipality through Metsi-A-Lekoa has tried to resolve in the past few months and have noted that there are some alterations the school did to its sewer network that has damaged the existing bulk sewer system that crosses in the boundary of the school, as such there are pipes that need to be repaired and Manhole to be constructed in the school right next to kitchen and again this is not related to the current project.”

Sangweni said efforts have been made to temporarily resolve the issue.

“Even if this new pipe were to function fully, we cannot guarantee that the problem at the school will be resolved, as this project was initiated to serve the community as a whole.”

He, however, stated that the project will not resolve all the sewerage issues in Boipatong, Tshepiso, and Sharpeville.

“There are sewerage lines this project does not interfere with, and hence would need other upgrades, repairs, and refurbishments to be done by the municipality’s operational team in the affected areas.”

On the current status of the project, Sangweni said the project is at an advanced stage, with only the MH1.58 still outstanding for construction.

“When that is done, the contractor will complete the benching of 50 manholes as well as reinstate road crossing and paving sections interrupted by the project. This all will take around 3-4weeks to complete, then the project can be commissioned.”

He said measures to prevent spillage into the school are being attended to by the operations team as and when the challenge is reported to the municipality.