Note to Editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Cllr Ntombi Mokoena, Afrikaans soundbite by Cllr Anelia Smit and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL. See attached pictures here and here.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Phumelela will escalate the ongoing sewage crisis in Thembalihle to the Provincial Department of CoGTA following a follow-up oversight visit that uncovered worsening safety risks and misleading claims made to residents regarding the state of repairs.
This inspection followed assurances made by the Ward 4 Councillor on social media on 2 May that municipal teams were successfully resolving the infrastructure failure.
The DA’s latest findings confirm that these claims were an empty public relations exercise, as the situation has transitioned from a mere service delivery failure into a significant and life-threatening public safety hazard.
The follow-up investigation revealed that, instead of implementing permanent repairs to the broken infrastructure, the municipality has simply excavated deep trenches that remain completely unbarricaded. These open pits lack any safety red tape or physical barriers, creating a lethal risk to local children and residents, particularly as they continue to fill with water during the current rains.
Furthermore, the makeshift channels created by the municipal team have proved entirely ineffective; they continue to direct raw sewage into the natural water supply, causing sustained environmental degradation to the local river system.
The human impact of this technical incompetence remains devastating for the families who were first visited by the DA on 26 April. Their households remain drenched in raw sewage, and residents are still unable to use their primary entrances, forced to live in conditions that violate their fundamental right to dignity and health.
We reject the municipality’s half-measures and the misleading narrative presented by local leadership, which has only deepened the crisis while leaving residents in a more vulnerable position than when the project reportedly began.
The DA will demand an urgent inquiry into the technical directorate’s failure to secure the site and their continued inability to provide a functional solution to the sewage overflow.
The community of Vrede deserves a government that prioritises honest communication and public safety over political optics and temporary fixes.