AFTER 20 years spent mostly mending burst water pipes in inhospitable areas of the town, uMhlathuze Municipality stalwart Steve Schamrel has finally laid down his wrenches.
The popular plumber passed his trade test as an SA Railways apprentice in 1987 and joined the city in 1995 as a foreman.
He rose through the ranks to Superintendent: Water & Sanitation in the Infrastructure and Technical Services Department.
It’s been a long, hard and testing career for the man who has had his fair share of abuse from angry residents whose water supply was interrupted by pipe bursts, but says he always understood their frustration.
‘I appreciated people for understanding and being patient while our team worked hard to restore service but, yes, there were plenty of difficult clients.
‘I used to joke that I have many friends – until I cut their water off to do a repair!’
Steve says he hated seeing the wastage of water during pipe breakages, and urges residents to encourage each other to save precious water.
‘I don’t think people truly understand just how bad this drought is and the dire future we face if good rains don’t come.’
He is pleased with the amount of new water reticulation pipes that have been replaced or are in the planning phase, which will mean fewer leaks in the future.
‘One thing I won’t miss is being on standby every second week for the last 10 or more years.
‘Our (Richards Bay North) area includes Alton, Madlazini, Enseleni and Mzingazi, so there were plenty of call-outs in the middle of the night.
‘But I loved my work and took immense pride in it. My staff were devastated when they heard I was leaving.’
Steve will now devote his time to watching his health and fitness, and being involved in church activities.
‘We are going to miss him, he was a dedicated worker,’ said Steve’s senior, Thuthukani Hlatswayo.
