VANDERBIJLPARK. – Vanderbijlpark has recently deteriorated into a sewerage strewn and smelly town.

The serious spill is all over the Vanderbijlpark CBD near the offices of the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) at the OK Building.

Business people around the area including municipal employees have since complained about their health as a results of the conditions they work in with the sewerage smell all over the buildings, including the underground parking. The sewer spillage has been running for the past week. One municipal employee who didn’t want to be named for fear of reprisals said the conditions in which they work are a health hazard.

“We have been complaining about these conditions and it seems as if they don’t take us seriously because they are not experiencing it. The smell is all over in our offices and some of us even got sick because of these conditions,” she said.

ELM Spokesperson Stanley Gaba said the matter has received the attention of ELM Executive Mayor, Gift Moerane and the Municipality Manager (MM), Oupa Nkoane who have held meetings with affected workers and also helped established a task team to look into the matter with a view to finding a lasting solution.

Gaba acknowledged to Sedibeng Ster that the ELM notes the spillage not only affects municipal employees but also the general public, residents and motorists who use roads and visit municipal and business premises in the vicinity.