Emfuleni residents trapped in sewage despite R200m spent

DESPITE the municipality reportedly spending over R200 million to fix sewer leaks, Emfuleni Local Municipality (EML) residents remain trapped in appalling conditions, surrounded by overflowing sewage that continues to seep into homes, streets, and public spaces, posing a serious threat to health and dignity.

- MASABATA MKWANANZI

This follows the Democratic Alliance (DA) questions tabled to the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Jacob Mamabolo, who revealed that the municipality spent more than R202 million on fixing leaks over the past five financial years.

Mamabolo disclosed that over the past five years, the municipality appointed 71 service providers to deal with ongoing sewage leaks.

Despite this, the problem persists. Notably, ALSANDRO Construction was paid over R24m, and SOBANGENA received more than R23m.

Between 2019 and 2024, the Emfuleni Local Municipality (EML) allocated over R200 million to address persistent sewage issues, spending over R51m in 2019/20, more than R24m in 2020/21, over R35m in 2021/22, over R45m in 2022/23 and more than R45m in 2023/24.

Kingsol Chabalala, the DA's constituency head for Emfuleni North, criticised the municipality's excessive spending, saying the hundreds of millions poured into fixing sewage issues have failed to improve conditions for residents. He also accused the Gauteng Department of COGTA of turning a blind eye, despite multiple formal appeals from the DA in Gauteng for urgent intervention.

He emphasised that the party is demanding urgent action from the Gauteng COGTA MEC, warning that if the issue is not addressed promptly, the DA will escalate the matter further.