“The sewerage in this town is a disaster case; it is an emergency,” said the new municipal manager of Makhado Municipality, Mr Shadrack Tshikalange.
Mr Tshikalange visited some of the problem sites in Louis Trichardt in the vehicle of the chairperson of the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association, Mr Frans Prinsloo, on May 4.
In the industrial area, Tshikalange was shocked to see the sewage flowing next to the railway line.
The sewage flows from several pump stations underneath the railway line, past the dysfunctional sewage plant and eventually passes close by boreholes that supply drinking water to the town. The existing sewage plant needs to be upgraded and a second plant established to cope with the sewage.
In the industrial area, Tshikalange and Prinsloo were met by an employee who wasted no time to spell out her complaints in no uncertain terms. It concerns the raw sewerage streaming down the road. “Last week I was sick; I wanted to throw up,” said Ms Rosslyn Odhiambo, an employee at Trade Post.
Trade Post and the adjacent business premises belong to Mr Tony José, who has been complaining to the Makhado Municipality about the sewage and smell for many months. At this stage, the business is literally standing on an island of sewerage. José is busy constructing a new building on the premises.
“It has been a problem for the past three years. The situation came right about 1½ years ago and stayed that way for four months. Now we are surrounded by sewerage again. I don’t even know if I should complete my building or not. It is terrible.Mama mia, you have to wear gumboots!” José said.
The worst scenario was found at the back of the buildings, where the sewage collected in a dam and stepping stones had to be placed. José said that he had phoned the health department and technical department of the municipality continuously throughout this year, to no avail.
Tshikalange and Prinsloo also visited some of the pump stations. Recent water tests showed that the water tested at a pump station showed unacceptably high bacterial counts.
“The boreholes in the industrial area are totally polluted,” Prinsloo claimed.
The half-completed Mowcop reservoir in the new part of town was also visited - a sad and dilapidated monument to incompetence.
“The neglect is not only in Makhado. We made a mistake in that we addressed the backlog and neglected what we had. Now it is expensive to fix those things,” said Tshikanlange.
On the brighter side, the Vhembe District Municipality’s draft budget shows R20 million for 2010/11 and R20 million for 2011/12 for “upgrading of Makhado sewage treatment plant and sewers in Makhado town”.