Bendor residents sick of stink
There is a septic tank on the other side of Divine Estate's border which is overflowing and it is suspected to be the cause of the problem
POLOKWANE – The smell at Divine Estate in Bendor is anything but what the name suggests, this is due to sewage water seeping through the wall of the neighbouring Parliamentary Village.
Divine Estate Site Manager, Hein Fuchs, says the matter has been reported to the Polokwane Municipality, however, nothing has been done to resolve the problem.
The constant smell of sewage along with the waste seeping into some of the estate’s yards are a big concern for residents.
“I rent here and the smell is terrible. We cannot eat in the kitchen and my children cannot play on the grass in the yard as it is soaked with sewage water,” Lindiwe Kumalo, a resident at Divine Estate, told BONUS.
BONUS visited the estate with a Polokwane Municipality Water and Sanitation technician, Tumelo Makwela, on Friday who confirmed that the problem had been reported to the municipality.
“A technician visited the site but as the report said the problem is in Parliamentary Village, they went there. However, they could not find any fault during the inspection. Now that we are in Divine Estate we see where the problem is,” Makwela said.
According to Fuchs, there is a septic tank on the other side of Divine Estate’s border which is overflowing and it is suspected to be the cause of the problem. “Unfortunately it is not a municipal problem but rather a Department of Public Works problem and the matter should be referred to them,” Makwela said.
Since the municipality does not work on septic tanks, the department needs to apply for a connection and the municipality will then connect the sewerage lines.
As it was very short notice and the Department of Public Works had no prior knowledge of the problem, they could not give any comment yet, but said they are looking into the problem.
