MAKHADO – A resident of Acasia Street who has been struggling for the last two months to get a broken sewerage pipe repaired, finally got a response from the municipality when the Director of Technical services, Mr Masindi Mapholi, came to inspect the problem himself.

The residents told the Zoutpansberger that a private plumber came out to fix a blocked toilet and that the plumber told them that he had done as much as he could and that the rest of the work could only be done by the municipality.

The resident lodged a series of complaints at the municipality, but these kept on falling on deaf ears. The residents eventually received a response when they threatened to take the matter to the newspaper.

First the municipal workers arrived at the resident’s home at half pass eight at night with a poor flashlight. As a result, they couldn’t see a thing and had to return the following day to inspect the problem. After digging a hole and exposing the broken pipe leading to the main sewage pipe, the workers left, never to return again.

The resident complained again and a health inspector came out on Friday, September 1, to inspect the problem. The health risks involved and the bad smell were getting out of hand and still nothing was done. Municipal staff told the resident that “he” had to supply the pipe for the municipality to fix the problem.

On September 5, Mr Mapholi heard about the situation and eagerly came to inspect the problem himself. After inspecting the problem, Mr Mapholi called a plumber to the site and said that this was the responsibility of the municipality and that the pipe had to be fixed right away. Mr Mapholi also tried to find the guilty municipal staff members who failed to complete the task the first time. He said that “this lazy behaviour of municipal staff won’t be tolerated and they will be disciplined for loafing on the job”. He added that “it is the right of all residents to demand services and it can’t be denied.”