The DA in the JB Marks Municipality is appalled by the ANC and Patriotic Alliance coalition government’s utter disregard for the safety of Promosa residents as evidenced by their refusal to deliver essential services to residents for months on end.
During a DA oversight inspection and community engagement programme we found that the health and safety needs of Promosa residents are being ignored. Promosa streets are awash with raw sewage that flow into the yards of residents, open manholes pose another safety risk, street lights are dysfunctional and pavements and roadsides are overgrown.
Since around February this year, Promosa residents have been raising concerns about the terrible stench of raw sewage near Poortjie Dam. The sewerage pump station near the dam has been out of operation for several months now.
The DA engaged an elderly resident who has been struggling to get the municipality to service a blocked drain for months, flooding his yard with raw sewage. See image here. Some residents have also fallen ill because of the exposure to raw sewage.
Earlier this week, a young girl’s leg got stuck in an exposed manhole which required emergency assistance to free her safely. The exposed manholes are a greater risk to residents at night since all the streetlights are dysfunctional. See image here and here.
Overgrown pavements, empty stands and roadsides pose another safety risk to residents and motorists, not only to criminal activity, but also to road user safety. Residents regularly fall victim to robbers hiding in the overgrowth.
The DA will write to the JB Marks Executive Mayor, Gaba Thithiba Ka Qhele, to invite him for a walk through Promosa’s streets so that he can see and smell for himself the inhumane conditions residents are forced to live in because of his government’s incompetence.
Additionally, the DA will request that Mayor Gaba and the acting Municipal Manager, Sandile Tyatya, immediately intervene and dispatch technical teams to cover the exposed manholes, fix the street lights, cut the overgrown pavements, fix the sewerage problems and rehabilitate the areas polluted by raw sewage.
The DA will keep fighting until the municipality restores the rights and dignity of Promosa residents.