Ndlambe must right its wrongs

FAILURE by Ndlambe municipality to address urgent problems relating to stormwater and sewerage have been laid bare weeks after the flood that devastated parts of Port Alfred.

For three weeks raw sewage poured into the floodwater covering homes and roads in lower Hards Street, Stewart Road and Medolino Caravan Park, further contaminating property already devastated by the flood.

After mounting concern and frustration over the municipality's tardiness to fix sewage pumps – they finally got one pump working last Thursday – Medolino owner Derek Victor decided to speak out.

He had already warned fellow residents not to enter the water without adequate protection and said there was a very real health risk.

Among the people who have become sick after coming into contact with the water are several NSRI volunteers who helped evacuate residents and their possessions.

Victor asked the municipality to put up signs warning people not to go into the water because of the sewage pollution and although the disaster management team at the fire station apparently agreed, no signs were erected.

He also asked the municipality to test the water for ecoli levels, and was stunned that they did a "potable water examination”, which simply states whether the levels of ecoli and faecal coliforms in the water make it unsuitable for drinking.

"Nobody official seems to have got concerned about the people who got sick,” he said.

Victor and other homeowners are now confronted with the immense and risky task of cleaning up their properties and seeing whether their homes would be habitable again, even if they can be salvaged.

Although any disaster funding provided by the national and provincial government does not cover private loss, the municipality is responsible for the sewage pollution and must surely share the cleanup duties.

A more long-standing lapse by the municipality is its failure to implement a permanent solution for stormwater drainage proposed by engineering experts following a flood nine years ago.

If implemented then, at a fraction of what it would cost now, the solution would have prevented water from reaching Prince's Avenue and flooding the lower areas as badly as they were in last month's heavy rains.

The solution was again mentioned in terms of a court settlement between Victor and the municipality in 2008, but still the municipality did nothing.

Now they are morally obligated to do what they should have done years ago. With Ndlambe having being declared a disaster area, part of the funding that is received for disaster relief must be used to fix the stormwater drainage.

- Jon Houzet