Cape Town - Samora Machel is one of many areas in the City of Cape Town facing sewage overflows in its streets.
The sewage problem in the area has been going on for a long time, and the residents are not happy. They have complained that living in pools of sewage can cause harm to their health.
Some of the residents said they had been lodging complaints to the councillor, and he kept promising to fix the problem, but he did not deliver.
Lunga Kowana, a father of four living in the area, said that he had enough, and he is even thinking of moving to his sister’s place in Khayelitsha. Kowana has been living in the area for six years.
“When I first moved here from Paarl, I thought the situation was temporal, and by that time, I was still looking for a job, so I could not leave the place. Things got worse, and my children started getting sick, and we reported the matter to the councillor, and he promised to fix the problem, and we are still waiting for him even today,” he said.
He also said that he would not be participating in the next elections because the government only care when they want votes. After the elections, they forget about their existence.
Ward councillor Lungisa Somdaka said he has been reporting the matter to the City of Cape Town, but they don’t give him straight answers.
“I am planning on removing those toilets and replace them with portable toilets because the mess makes it hard for the people cleaning the place to do their job. The sewage is everywhere,” said Somdaka.
He also said he planned to hold a meeting with the City to discuss the matter further because the residents won’t stop complaining.
Councillor Siseko Mbandezi, the acting Mayco member for Water and Sanitation, said that the sewer overflows that are happening in Samora Machel are not because the drains are broken.
He further said sewer spills and overflows are happening there because of the on-going foreign objects such as rubble, litter, rags, waste and diapers that are being dumped into the sewer pipes and causing pump stations to fail and sewage to overflow onto the streets.
“The situation becomes worse with the impact of prolonged, high stages of load shedding on pump stations, which also causes it to fail and results in overflows. The City’s Water and Sanitation teams have been going to the area to clear sewer blockages and clean affected areas,” he said.
Mbandezi said his department was also busy installing a screen to help reduce the waste entering the pump station via pipes to reduce the risk of spills.
The City has allocated more than R10 million for a sewer upgrade project in the area.
“However, another challenge the City faces is the safety of our staff when they are responding to clearing blocked sewer drains as our teams have unfortunately been intimidated, shot and robbed by criminals,” said Mbandezi.
Residents are reminded that whatever they flush down their toilets or pour down their sinks and drains goes into the sewer pipes and is carried to pump stations and to the treatment plants where sewage is treated.
This can block the pipes and damage pump stations, causing sewer overflows. They are also advised to report blockages and overflows so they can be cleared in a reasonable time frame, given the current power situation.