Lentswe, Orkney - The DA Klerksdorp wants the minister for Water and Sanitation to intervene in the persistent sewage crisis they say is robbing residents of their dignity.
According to Cllr Chris Bester, seventeen of the 22 sewerage pump stations in Matlosana constantly overflow with raw sewage. He said all five pump stations in Orkney are dysfunctional, and are polluting residential areas.
“The municipality blames loadshedding and financial constraints for this ongoing crisis. However, both Matlosana’s annual and adjustment budgets failed to allocate the required funding towards sanitation services like maintenance, upgrades and responding effectively to pipe bursts and overflowing pump stations.
“Load-shedding is not a valid excuse for the deterioration in service delivery. The ANC engineered load-shedding and residents have been subjected to it for more than 16 years, plenty of time for the City to implement measures to ensure that basic service delivery continues,’’ said Bester.
He told Lentswe that the biggest problem with the pump stations are that they unable to automatically turn on as soon as electricity is restored, which means workers must physically travel to switch them on manually. “But because of the municipality’s financial crisis, workers do not have access to reliable transport. There is also a massive shortage of parts and equipment to repair broken pumps, burst sewerage pipes and open blockages. Matlosana’s Jet Liners and Honey Suckers have been out of operation for more than two years due to a lack of funding to pay for repairs.’’
Cllr Bester said that they asked Minister Senzo Mchunu to urgently intervene to rectify the situation in Matlosana.
