To residents of Louis Trichardt, it may seem as if the Makhado Municipality has forgotten all about maintaining the town, although this year started with a positive message from the Makhado Municipality’s technical department, promising better service delivery.

The ongoing problems, mostly blamed on the rain, are the tall grass next to the roads and intersections, the patching of potholes and the tackling of sewage problems as they emerge.

Currently, another problem in some parts of town is not the quality of the water but the lack of it. This problem might not sound serious to some, but imagine prisoners in the holding cells, not being able to flush toilets after using them or a patient at the hospital, already sick, being exposed to an even greater health risk.

Residents around town already know that the sewage problems are due to an inadequate sewage system. Several residents, however, complain about the unprofessional response of the Makhado Municipality to reported spills and blockages.

The Zoutpansberger’s attention was drawn by Mr Jan Loots to a recurring problem of raw sewage flowing out of his yard, into the road, where it gathers in a large pool, exposing all who either walk or drive past to the possible spreading of the accompanying health risks even more.

Raw sewage spilled out at the same place during March last year. The same slow response from the department of technical services’ plumbing section was also experienced.

According to Loots, apart from the sewage build-up and blockage resulting from an inadequate system, residents are also still not educated as to what to flush and what not to flush.

After reporting the current sewage blockage to the municipality on Monday, municipal plumbers only arrived on the site on Wednesday, just before lunch.

He says the drain was eventually unblocked, but the sewage spilled along the road and inside his yard was left untouched. When he drew attention to this, the reply from the municipal team was that they did not know what to do, as the bakkie used to clean sewage spills was apparently not in a working condition and all of the equipment normally used in these situations was with the broken vehicle.

Mr Loots says although he understands the blockage is partly due to items being flushed down the toilets in an irresponsible way, the fact that the municipality takes its time to respond makes the sewage flow even more unbearable and extremely risky.

Mr Johan de Beer, a neighbour of Loots, said he too reported the sewage blockage and spill. He insisted on a report reference number, so that he could complain again if no response was forthcoming. The lady who assisted him told him that they didn’t work on a system which provided any details on the reports.

According to De Beer, this raised the question of how the municipality could possibly prioritise or get any work done without using reference numbers?

The fact that the vehicle used for cleaning spilled sewage has still not been repaired raised another question: What is the municipality doing with all the rates, water and electricity money that they are paid, if these are not being used to improve service delivery?

De Beer told the Zoutpansberger that he would like to know what exactly is happening at the municipality and why there is no financial control over the money that comes in and flows out of the municipality, without any of it being used to improve service delivery.

Despite the serious problem of sewage being spilled, other problems such as tall grass next to intersections are a safety hazard. The potholes also still pose a serious threat to vehicles’ being damaged.

Another problem is the removal of full rubbish containers and the supply of suitable and adequate public containers at problem areas such as in front of the railway station’s main entrance.

Some residents said when they asked for black garbage bags, they were told that they should buy them from the refuse workers.

Mr Louis Bobodi, municipal spokesperson, said that the municipality was attending to the problems as quickly as possible and that a lot of the staff who are supposed to be cutting the tall grass in parks and along the streets have been working at the cemetery.

"It is impossible to be everywhere at once and we are looking at ways to improve on this," Bobodi said.

On other issues, such as the slow response to reports of sewage spills, Bobodi said that although damaged equipment does play a part in the response, it is not an excuse and that it will be taken up with the relevant department.

On enquiring to the office of technical services about the garbage problem, Bobodi was informed that the containers were being emptied as quickly as possible.

As for the water problem on Tuesday, Bobodi said this was due to a pipe burst. The problem was eventually fixed, and the reservoirs had to be filled, which took some time.

On the issue of potholes, Mr Bobodi said that the municipality was in the process of appointing a professional contractor and that they only wanted the best, to make sure the patched potholes remained patched for some time, until the roads could be properly restored to their former state.