The ward councillor for Bonaero Park, André Du Plessis, said the issue surrounding the Bonaero Bird Park Sanctuary had a 10-year history.
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“I have been battling this continuously.
“An attempt by the metro to install a new sewer pipeline was abandoned by a previous contractor, resulting in raw sewerage flowing freely into the wetland.
“I have numerous items of correspondence to the COE, warning them of the contravention of environmental as well as water legislation by allowing sewerage to pollute a wetland without taking drastic control measures,” said Du Plessis.
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He said the entire Bonaero Park was experiencing sewer overflow issues exacerbated by all the recent developments on the north-western boundary of Bonaero Park.
“Myself and affected residents had numerous meetings with the construction teams where we warned them against connecting their sewer lines directly into the existing Bonaero sewer lines,” he said.
He told the Express they ignored their warnings. This resulted in a serious increase in sewer spills to the immediate areas of Aeroparque Street, Cote De Azure Street and Bonaero Drive, which flowed into the stormwater drains and ended up in the wetland as well as the adjoining park on Aeroparque Street.
He added he and the community formulated a petition, which he forwarded to his DA political head who submitted it to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.
In addition, he said this resulted in the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee responding by doing site visits as well as providing a substantial amount of funding earmarked for the entire upgrade of the sewer infrastructure through northern Bonaero Park and around the wetland, including the Essendon Sewer Pump Station through Pomona, also including the Pomona Sewer Pump Station past Serengeti Estate up to the ERWAT sewer processing works.
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He said the project has many phases. They completed the first phase from Bonaero Drive under Atlas Road to link the second phase around the wetland.
“This first phase had non-performing, substandard and inexperienced contractors who also caused problems with the local labour employed on the site by often not paying them on time.
“There were also many complaints from surrounding residents subjected daily to uncontrolled dust,” said Du Plessis.
He said the Ekurhuleni roads department was responsible for managing the project.
In the second phase, the upgrades of the sewer pipelines around ‘Poo Lake’ up to and including the sewer pump station in Essendon Street started at the beginning of last year, with a deadline of the end of August.
They extended this to the end of November.
“Constant delays also plagued the second phase, mainly due to the CoE’s non- or late payment of the main contractor, resulting in the subcontractors and local labour from the adjoining informal settlement not being paid or paid late.
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“Virtually every month, I had to communicate with the CoE officials to get paid for this contractor and his subcontractors for them to continue with their work.”
He added by the end of October 2022; the project had come to a complete standstill as the subcontractor on site had not been paid and thus could not purchase materials nor pay their various sub-contractors and local labour.
“Again I pleaded with the CoE officials for payment of these contractors and sub-contractors’’
He said that at the end of November 2022, he and one of his ward committee members had an on-site meeting with the contractor and their sub-contractor, together with the CLO, representing the local labourers.
“They informed me the project is 95% complete and if they could receive their outstanding payments, they will work well into December, past the normal contractors’ December shutdown period to purchase more materials for completion of the project,” he said.
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He added he immediately alerted the appropriate senior CoE officials regarding this possibility and again pleaded for payment.
The only response he received was that the contract had expired and that they would appoint a new contractor in April.
Du Plessis explained the original contractor was only paying their last outstanding invoice at the end of March thereafter, they could pay their subcontractors.
“There is still no new contractor on site and my caucus leadership had a public meeting in Bonaero Park last month where we engaged with the community on various service delivery issues, including this ‘Poo Lake’ issue which we followed up with a further meeting with the CoE senior officials who again indicated that the project will commence in April,” said the ward councillor.
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About potholes, Du Plessis explained, these are a result of the stormwater not being able to flow into the stormwater drains.
The current excavations block these drains and they cannot divert the water into ‘Poo Lake’ thus with the constant traffic, it becomes worse.
“I and the community, as well as my ward committee, have reported these ever-increasing potholes and added these complaints to our ward committee meeting minutes to send to the roads department.
I have even sent a video of these potholes to the MMC for roads, seeking prioritisation and they have ignored us,” Du Plessis said.
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