Residents of Tafelsig have been living with raw sewage flooding their streets for more than five years.

With an election approaching and councillors nearing the end of their term, the problem is still not fixed.

An inherited headache

The issue came up again at the Subcouncil 12 meeting on Thursday 19 June.

Subcouncil chair Solomon Philander, whose ward also covers part of Tafelsig, said the problem predates the current council and had been inherited by them and the vandalising of the pump station by protesters last year had made the situation considerably worse.

“The vandalism is a major, major issue,” he said, adding that people were also dumping foreign objects, including tyres, bumpers and nappies, into the sewers.

“Dumping into our infrastructure is a major issue,” said Philander.

He said a properly working pump station was central to keeping things under control.

“Obviously you’re reacting to an overflow. You must have a pump station that’s running,” he said to the official whose team has been called out to “suck and dumps” at the flooded drains.

Why the system cannot cope

The official told the meeting that buildings had been put up on top of sewer lines, and that illegal connections and work done by unqualified people were placing extra strain on the system.

Ward councillor Norman Adonis said the budget for the needed repairs is in place but the main work had not been done.

“The budget is there since the beginning of the year. The budget is not being spent,” he said, adding that only a security guardroom upgrade at the pump station had been completed.

“The place is flooded and it happens all the time, and I think more should be done,” he said.

Community is fed up

Adonis said the community’s patience was wearing thin.

“The story has been coming on for five years,” he said.

Residents, he added, were telling their representatives: “You guys have been here for five years, voted for you, and you’re still sitting here.”

Philander added that the budget was for the financial year that had just begun.

He called on residents to log problems using the city’s C3 system.

“Just make sure you log it on C3. Send it to us, and we will respond,” he said, adding that resolving the crisis required a joint effort. “It should be a partnership between the City, the residents and those who use that infrastructure.”

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