Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Louis van Heerden and Sesotho soundbite by Cllr Kabelo Moreeng. See attached pictures here, here, and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality is deeply disgusted and concerned that a severe sewerage crisis in Ward 15 has once again erupted, the direct result of the municipality’s ongoing failure to address a long-standing blockage first reported in September 2023.
Despite repeated complaints and formal reports submitted to the Technical Services Department over the past two years, the root cause of the sewerage blockage was never adequately resolved. As a result, the same section of sewer line has now collapsed again, causing yet another overflow that is turning the greenbelt area behind Holten Street into a foul-smelling, unsafe marsh of raw sewage.
The homes adjacent to the greenbelt and the hundreds of residents who use the pathways daily are being exposed to an unacceptable health hazard. This ongoing crisis highlights not only gross negligence but also a complete disregard for the community’s well-being, dignity, and safety.
The DA has once again escalated this matter, placing renewed pressure on the Technical Services Management to take immediate and permanent action.
We have engaged the Director of the Technical Services department and the Municipal Manager, Mr Basi Motloung, demanding an urgent intervention and a full technical investigation into why the 2023 complaint was never adequately resolved.
Service delivery failures of this nature cannot be allowed to continue. The people of Metsimaholo deserve clean, safe and functional infrastructure, not repeated exposure to dangerous environmental conditions caused by municipal incompetence.
We will continue to hold the municipality accountable until the collapsed sewer line is repaired, the greenbelt is rehabilitated, and long-overdue preventative maintenance plans are implemented.