A Somali shop owner in Philippi is crying foul, citing a damaged sewer as a deterrent to customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shop owner, whose business Xhamela Spaza Shop is situated in Bristol Road, says he has been struggling to attract customers since the damage and is appealing to the City to intervene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said it has been a month since the problem began. This has caused a decline in customer numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe sewage passes in front of my shop and it makes it difficult for the customers to come into the shop. Also, there is a water pipe that is broken from my neighbour which is causing chaos on the street,\u201d he said, adding that some of his loyal customers now go to other shops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the customers, who only identified herself as Mama ka Athi, described the sewage in front as disturbing. \u201cWe can\u2019t ask children to come to the shop because of the mess that is in front of it. And we don\u2019t blame my friend (Somalian owner) because there\u2019s nothing that he can do,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She accused the City for failing to take care of the area, citing that the whole area is dirty. \u201cThe City must fix all the broken drains. Fix the potholes and clean all the illegal dumping sites,\u201d said Mama ka Athi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When City Vision<\/span> visited the house which had a broken water pipe on Saturday 29 January there was no-one inside and the gate was locked. However, water was coming under the boundary wall into the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ward 35 councillor Melikhaya Gadeni said the spilling of the sewerage system is a challenge in Philippi as a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He cited the problem as old infrastructure that needs to be upgraded. \u201cWe do have a challenge with the poor drainage system and we report it continuously. But it doesn\u2019t last because the City employees are fixing it today and a few days later they leak again,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gadeni said only a change to the entire sewerage system in Philippi will assist to improve the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe whole underground infrastructure is old and it can\u2019t cope with the population of Philippi and it needs to be changed,\u201d said Gadeni. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Somali shop owner in Philippi is crying foul, citing a damaged sewer as a deterrent to 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