DA aims to tackle sewage issues in Promosa

The DA in the J.B. Marks Municipality is appalled at the municipality’s flagrant disregard for the safety of Promosa residents.

It has refused to provide essential services to Promosa residents for months. During a DA oversight inspection and a community engagement programme, the DA found the municipality had ignored the health and safety needs of Promosa residents.

According to DA councillor Glenville Fransman, Promosa’s streets are flooded with untreated sewage that flows into yards. Open manholes pose a safety hazard, streetlights do not work, and pavements and road-sides are overgrown.

“Since around February, Promosa residents have raised concerns about the terrible stench of raw sewage near Poortjie Dam. “The sewerage pump station near the dam has been out of operation for several months now,” Fransman said.

The DA also spoke to an elderly resident who struggled to get the municipality to service a blocked drain that has flooded his yard with raw sewage for months. Some residents have also fallen ill because of the exposure to raw sewage.

The acting municipal spokesperson, Jeanette Tshite, says the J.B. Marks Local Municipality acknowledged that sewage leakage posed a severe challenge to the municipality and the broader community.

“In instances of sewage leakage, relevant officials from the Directorate Technical Services attend to the affected areas,” she said.

“Due to issues with cable theft, which continue to affect the pump stations, we have a catch-22 scenario as leakage continues. “The entire system’s operations are hindered when electricity at the pump stations is interrupted due to tampering or cable theft. However, officials will make a follow-up visit to all the problem spots to guarantee that they are fixed,” she said.

Fransman added that a few weeks ago, a young girl’s leg got stuck in an exposed manhole, requiring emergency assistance to free her. The exposed manholes are a greater risk to residents at night since all the streetlights are dysfunctional.

“Overgrown pavements, roadsides and empty stands pose another safety risk to residents and motorists, not only due to criminal activity but also for road user safety. Residents regularly fall victim to robbers hiding in the overgrowth,” Fransman said.

In addition, he said the DA would write to the executive mayor Gaba Ka Qhele to invite him for a walk through Promosa. The party believes that by seeing and smelling the inhumane conditions residents are forced to live in because of his government’s incompetence, Ka Qhele will be more aware of the indignities residents face.

“The DA will request that Ka Qhele and the acting municipal manager, Sandile Tyatya, immediately intervene and dispatch technical teams to cover the exposed manholes, fix the street lights, cut the overgrown pavements, fix the sewerage problems and rehabilitate the areas polluted by raw sewage, “The DA will keep fighting until the municipality restores the rights and dignity of Promosa residents,” he concluded.