The Democratic Alliance (DA) is mobilising support for our petition to put pressure on Thembelihle municipality to repair its broken honeysucker truck, to stop residential areas in Strydenburg and Hopetown from being flooded by sewage.
The honeysucker has been largely out of operation since January and has only been in use on approximately six occasions this year, due to intermittent breakdowns, causing a growing backlog in sanitation services. It was last operational two weeks ago, when it managed to extract sewage from a single septic tank, before developing a hydraulic oil leak and being relegated to the municipal garage again.
The inconsistent collection of sewage is leading to a build-up of waste, creating unpleasant and unhygienic living conditions that are directly impacting on hundreds of households. Sewage is bubbling up in people’s homes and in their yards, causing streams and ponds in the worst affected areas like Tamboville, Slangpark, Hillside and Deetlefsville, in Strydenburg. See pics here, here, here and here.
The DA has been engaging directly with the Technical Director to get some of the worst sewage blockages and spills addressed but this is increasingly difficult due to the dysfunctional sewerage truck.
The municipality used to make use of a contractor to repair the yellow fleet but growing financial constraints have forced the municipality to do repairs in-house, without much success.
The DA has initiated a petition to demand that Thembelihle municipality undertakes urgent repair work of the honeysucker to ensure that there is, at all times, an operational sewerage truck available to facilitate the regular, timeous and consistent collection of sewage in Strydenburg and Hopetown.
A functional honeysucker is crucial for maintaining a septic tank system and preventing related environmental issues and must be prioritized by Thembelihle municipality.