You’d be forgiven to think that water is the biggest problem in and around Grahamstown. But in fact, over the past few months, the Makana customer care office received twice as many complaints about sewage.
You’d be forgiven to think that water is the biggest problem in and around Grahamstown. But in fact, over the past few months, the Makana customer care office received twice as many complaints about sewage.
During a press conference during the recent visit of the MEC of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Mlibo Qhoboshiane, Makana Mayor Zamoxolo Peter said, “On the topic of sewage spillages, we have not received any complaints… but it is something that we are more cautious about.”
However, Grocott’s Mail's experience was in direct contradiction to this statement. During the week of Qhoboshiyane's visit, this reporter spent a morning at the customer care office at the city Hall. There people can submit complaints telephonically, by email, on the Makana website, through the presidential hotline or just by walking in.
According to the office's files, which record only complaints from visitors and phone calls, blocked sewers and spillages are the main service problems in Makana. Since April the office recorded only five water-shortage complaints, while there were 13 recorded sewage issues, of which nine had been marked as unresolved.
A total of 52 registered phone calls, walk-in and presidential office complaints have been filed since April. This relatively small number of complaints might indicate that people do not yet know they have this option. Out of these 52 cases only 15 have been resolved.
One of the key challenges appears to be that complaints are forwarded to relevant departments and engineers, who don't respond.
A further problem is that the system is not yet automated. This means complaints are written on paper. The absence of an automated system was also the reason that the files for the period between January and April could not be found. No complaint calls came through while Grocott’s Mail was visiting the office.
Apart from blocked drains and spillages, there are several other sewage problems in the town. One of the most urgent is the lack of sewage disposal systems in many areas of the township. Several houses in Hlalani don’t have toilets. Some have toilets, but there are no sewage pipes, so they can't flush their toilets.
Zilindile Klaas, who has lived in Hlalani for 20 years, has submitted several complaints to the customer’s service office regarding the problems in his yard. “The office has never called me back or given me feedback on any of my complaints. All they do is write my problem down,” said Klaas.
Faeces had piled up in his toilet, which is shared by four people. The toilet nearly collapsed when the door was opened. “I have never had a toilet that flushes,” said Klaas. “My first makeshift government toilet collapsed and I built this one for myself two years ago.”
The fortunate few who do have municipal toilets in Hlalani depend on a municipal van that collects human waste once a week.
Members of the public who wish to file a complaint to the customer cares office can visit them at City Hall, call 080 111 6134, or use the www.makana.gov.za website.
