Residents took it upon themselves to fix a sewage spill that has been flowing outside their homes for months. According to the locals, they had been experiencing this problem since 2020.
Frustrated locals gathered on Sunday January 16 and fixed the sewage spill after they realised the danger it was posing to their health. The community members said they went to the affected area with their working materials and one community member contributed a pipe that was needed fix the problem.
They cut the old pipe into two, took the new one and put it in the middle then connected the two old pipes. This stopped the spillage and they covered the area with soil. Simon Veldman, one of the community members, said their food was covered with flies and the smell made it unbearable to sit outside. The raw sewage would splash on their vehicles and the road was slippery.
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“We decided to fix the problem ourselves after we realised that the municipality was not coming to our rescue. When we reported this problem to the municipality three weeks ago, no assistance came our way. Although in the past they would come and fix it, the problem would start again.We could not fold our hands and do nothing when our health was in danger. It was becoming difficult to pass on the road and we have children who play there.”
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Makhaza Ntuli, the community forum chairperson, said they could not wait for the municipality when the situation was getting worse. “As a community, we took a stand to fix the sewage issue after we saw that our municipality had failed us. We could not wait for its budget while things were getting so out of hand.” Read more in the next print edition of Mpumalanga News.
