NEWCASTLE KZN: Acting MM apologises personally for sewage issues
LISTEN: Acting MM and the newly established Technical Task Team commit to sorting out sewage issues.
For many months, Hutten Heights resident, Henry Howard has tried in vain to get help from the Newcastle Municipality.
When several complaints about sewage issues in his yard and neighbouring properties went unacknowledged, Howard eventually turned to his last resort – social media and the local newspaper – for help.
During an exclusive meeting this week between newly-appointed acting Municipal Manager, Vish Govender and the Newcastle Advertiser, the issue was brought up once more and Govender committed to resolving the problem immediately.
“There is no excuse for this to be happening. As a municipality we have to implement simple business ethics and principles and consequence management is a key factor in this,” explained Govender.
After vowing to personally oversee the sewage issue, Govender and his team arrived at Howard’s home early the next morning (February 9) to begin fixing the problem.
“Firstly, I want to apologise to you personally for the municipality not responding to this issue sooner,” Govender told Howard after a thorough inspection of the property and surrounding area along Fountain and Ring Avenues.
Once the full scope of the problem was ascertained, the team – headed by Dr Dumisani Thabethe – set about clearing out the blockages, sucking up the sewage and ‘blasting’ the lines.
“The owners of the affected houses were notified about the possibility of demolishing their palisade walls and uprooting trees [in order to fix the problem]. We anticipate to complete the repairs on Friday without any come backs,” confirmed Dr Thabethe.
Howard has since expressed his gratitude to the municipality for committing to addressing ongoing service delivery issues and has further issued a call for responsible citizenry.
“We cannot place the blame solely at the feet of the municipality in this instance because people are also not disposing of their waste properly which exacerbates the blockage of sewage drains. The only thing that should be flushed down a toilet is proper toilet paper. We need to be able to work together otherwise face the consequences of our actions,” said Howard.
Taking service delivery to the next level
On February 10, Govender and his newly established Technical Task Team were once again on the ground addressing sewage issues in Madadeni and Osizweni.
“The team has been mandated to speedily provide solutions to the ongoing sewage spills across Newcastle. The municipality has also noted the ongoing spillage at the Madadeni P Pump Station in Section 7. In the interim, temporary staff will be employed to monitor the situation,” confirmed Mlungisi Khumalo, Head of Communications for Newcastle Municipality.
He added the municipality had committed itself to resolving the problem as soon as possible: “The Technical Task Team will present a comprehensive strategy to combat sewage spills in all affected areas.”
Residents can report sewage, electricity, water and other service delivery issues by phoning the 24-hour Customer Care Line on 0860 144 144.
Click on the soundbite below to hear how this process will work, according to Dr Thabethe:
Click on the soundbite below to listen to acting MM, Vish Govender, speak about service delivery in Newcastle:
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