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A growing three-year old sewage spill, that had started encircling the suburb of Southridge in Kimberley, was fixed within a day. This is only after ongoing pressure from the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Sol Plaatje, finally spurred the municipality into action.

An oversight inspection to the site today showed how the once marshy, stinky veld has started to dry up.

While it took countless complaints, some bad media publicity, and additional oversight inspections by DA provincial leadership and national spokespersons, it seems that the launch of a DA petition to call Sol Plaatje to order, was the final straw that pushed Executive Mayor, Kagisho Sonyoni, to act on the matter.

Sonyoni arrived with 47 workers and heavy equipment to cut away at the thick scrub to determine what was happening underneath. They then proceeded to unblock just two bad drains that were the root cause of Southridge starting to turn into a waterfront.

To the residents whose houses border on the edge of Smart Street, where the sewage was pushing up onto the road, it is a breath of fresh air. It is also a significant relief that they no longer have to worry about having their houses engulfed in sewage, as already happened in White City in Roodepan, where houses were destroyed and had to be abandoned.

To the learners of Elizabeth Conradie School, it means that they can play tennis again on a sewage free court.

While the DA is pleased for the residents of Southridge, we remain angered that it has taken Sol Plaatje about 36 months to perform one day’s worth of work. The entire matter could have been prevented if they only responded to that very first complaint.

The DA will continue to expose sewage leaks and other municipal faults in Sol Plaatje, as well as hold the municipality accountable for fixing them. If this is what it takes to get some kind of service delivery out of this ANC-led municipality, then that is what the DA will continue to do while we remain in opposition.

If the caring DA, however, was in control of Sol Plaatje, residents could look forward to real-time service delivery that is more akin to a 48-hour turnaround time for repairs, as opposed to a 36 month crisis control reaction.

Issued by Marie Beylefeld, Cllr - Sol Plaatje Municipality