Newly elected Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza says residents are partly to blame for sewage spillages as a result of ‘throwing foreign objects into the sewer lines’.
He referred specifically to the disposal of animal matter in the course of slaughtering.
EWN reports that the mayor’s remarks stand in contrast to Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka previously attributing the spillages in the municipality to poor infrastructure maintenance.
However, responding to complaints from Katlehong residents who list sewer leaks as one of their major concerns, the ANC mayor said: ‘Communities themselves are throwing foreign objects into the sewer lines and that is where we must run many community awareness campaigns. The sewer line is designed to carry that which you flush, and shower water. When our communities slaughter [animals], they throw all those stuff into sewer lines.’
[Image: Paul Brennan from Pixabay]