By Ruvesen Naidoo
The residents of First Avenue in Hoggenoeg, Makhanda are fed up with a huge flood of sewage that they say is 20 years old, and affects their health and livelihoods. A once-empty piece of land between First Avenue and Sun City informal settlement is now overgrown with bushes that have flourished as a result of the sewage leak. This makes the path across this land very dangerous for pedestrians who walk through it on their way to different workplaces in town.
Resident Roy Sauls, who lives one street away in Second Avenue, Hooggenoeg says “We have made a lot of complaints to the municipality before, but they just come and look and go away, without fixing the problem”. Sauls says the terrible smell from the sewage that has accumulated in the bushes has caused him and other residents headaches and chest pains.
Sauls says there is no need for the municipality to ignore the sewage leak as it could easily connect a sewage pipe to the main sewage line that runs through the area. “It would be quick to fix”, says Sauls, adding that because the street lights also don’t work, residents are forced to walk through the bushes late at night after finishing work. He says although the community has asked the municipality to resolve the issues of both the sewage and street lights, nothing has been done yet.
Nadia Elbrecht who lives in First Avenue in Hooggenoeg says that she has not complained to the municipality about the sewage issue because “nothing gets done”. She says she has lived with the sewage leak for years. She says it has definitely affected her well-being, and that of her two sons who live with her as the path of the sewage starts across from her home.
“In summer especially, I cannot open windows or doors because of the smell”, she says, adding that her house is not well-ventilated so when she is cooking, there is quite a bit of heat in the house as she cannot open the door for fresh air to come in. She mentions that cooking has become a hard task to do as the smell of the sewage is off-putting.
Elbrecht highlights that it is very important to her that the community has a well-managed sewage system and says “The kids have made a path through the bushes and are now playing where the sewage is”. A further problem is that irregular waste management services in the area have resulted in people throwing their garbage into the bushy, sewage-filled swamp.
Residents who are still subjected to the bucket system also use the area as a toilet. Elbrecht has growing concerns about the safety of her children falling into the sewage as the bush has become a playground for the kids, especially during school holidays. She has had to resort to putting her younger son into after-care, so that he comes home late and avoids playing outside.
Although Elbrecht has only lived in her house for seven years, she has stayed in Hoogenoeg from the age of five, and says “From the time I can remember, even before the RDP houses were built, that sewage has been running there”.
Elbrecht mentions that she has not heard of any upcoming plans or projects by the municipality that will resolve the issue but says that she is aware that Berend Walters, a community activist, and resident of Hoogenoeg, has taken it upon himself to unclog the main drains and has dug a few homemade channels for the sewage to flow out of the area.
Walters says the municipality is well aware of the problem. “I do not know when the issue will be resolved. The only thing that I know is that the Minister of Water and Sanitation said that he will come back on 16 September 2023 to come and see the situation with the sewage, and what can be done”, says Walters, referring to a recent promise made by Minister Senzo Mchunu at the Makhanda City Hall.
Grocott’s Mail has sent questions to Makana Municipality and will update this story when responses are received.
