Raw sewage on municipality’s doorstep
Raw sewage is flowing unattended in front of the Thohoyandou Shopping Centre just 300 m from the Thulamela Municipality's door steps
LIMPOPO –Â The sewerage line burst in front of the General Fruits & Vegetable Market, and is putting the lives of the residents, business owners and hawkers at risk of contracting illness due to being exposed to the sewage.
One of the hawkers, Rudzani Muofhe, said the sewerage pipe burst more than two weeks ago and has been spilling sewage non-stop, but the Thulamela Municipality is not attending to it.
“What surprises me is that municipality officials are also seeing it when they go down to Luvhengo Complex, Mvusuludzo and Mutsindo Malls, yet they do nothing to resolve the problem. It is flowing towards the newly constructed R317 million Intermodal Transport Facility,” he said.
Jacques Smalle, DA Leader in Limpopo, said the flow of raw sewage was a direct violation of the community’s right to a clean environment as stipulated in the South African Constitution. He said people in Thohoyandou were exposed to the stench of the sewage and to contracting illnesses from mosquitoes and the unhygienic situation. As a result, people became ill and the town became unbearable to live in.
“Residents are tired of the municipality’s empty promises to fix it.
“In terms of the National Environment Management Act, it is an offense to expose the people to such an environmental health hazard. The environmental inspectorate must investigate why the municipality failed to take positive steps to end this health risk. If any of the officials are in derelict of their duties, the law must take its course,” said Smalle.
Spokesperson for the Vhembe District Municipality, Matodzi Ralushai, said: “It was reported some time ago and we attended to it. You will get a clear answer after getting a full report from our team”.
