By Selenathi Botha
After complaining for years about a large sewage leak in front of their house, the Hartzenberg family who lives in Matthew Street, Fort England is still not satisfied with the Makana Municipality.
Grocott’s Mail reported in April this year that the giant sewage flood had eaten away the family’s driveway and they could no longer drive in and out of the house. Since then, the eroded driveway and road have been fixed with concrete. However, the repair might not last long because sewage continues to flood across the road.
Patricia Hartzenberg said she feels that Makana municipality is now fed up with their complaints and may simply be ignoring the family because they have reported this problem with no change. Even the Ward Eight councillor, Cary Clark of the DA, has reported the sewage leak many times but still, there’s no long-lasting solution from the municipality.
Hartzenberg said what was worse about the sewage leak was that it smelt bad every day, which affected their health, especially the health of their children. Grocott’s Mail also noticed a very strong and terrible sewage smell.
Hartzenberg said the family had tried to clean the sewage up by themselves but it was impossible. ”Municipal cars always pass this road but there’s never a time where they stop their cars to fix our problem”, Hartzenberg added.
Finally, Hartzenberg said she and her neighbours had lost hope for the municipality. The Hartzenberg family hopes for a miracle now so that their complaints are heard.
Grocott’s Mail contacted Makana Municipality for comment. A spokesperson asked the newspaper to call back later but when we did, the spokesperson’s phone was off.