DA hits back at eThekwini over cheeky Facebook post on sewage issue at Cape beaches
The DA has rejected the ‘childish and myopic’ statement issued by the eThekwini Municipality wishing the City of Cape Town a ‘speedy recovery’ after a number of short-term sewage spills in the city.
The DA has rejected the ‘childish and myopic’ statement issued by the eThekwini Municipality wishing the City of Cape Town a ‘speedy recovery’ after a number of short-term sewage spills in the city.
Durban – The DA has hit back at eThekwini Municipality following a cheeky Facebook post over sewage spills.
In a post that has since gone viral on social media, eThekwini Municipality committee chairperson of governance and human capital, Nkosenhle Madlala weighed in on recent beach closures in the Mother City.
“We wish our colleagues in Cape Town well as they battle sewer spillages in some of their beaches. Running a metro is a complex task fraught with many challenges, even if you have been sparred (sic) from the devastating floods experienced in April last year. We wish them (a) speedy recovery,” he said.
Commenting on the post, the DA’s Thabani Mthethwa said the ANC should focus their energy on fixing infrastructure instead of issuing frivolous and petty statements about other municipalities.
“The DA rejects the childish and myopic statement issued by the eThekwini Municipality which wished the City of Cape Town a ‘speedy recovery’ after a number of short-term sewage spills in the city,” Mthethwa said.
He said the statement was a poor attempt at humour.
“DA City of Cape Town councillor Alex Lansdowne, who heads up the mayoral task team on waterways, pointed out to the eThekwini Municipality that 90% of sewage leaks in Cape Town are attended to with two hours of reporting. He further invited councillor Madlala and eThekwini to come to Cape Town and see for themselves. This was swiftly rejected by eThekwini with a simple ‘no thanks’.
“It is a simple fact that this tourism season has been a disaster for eThekwini. Beaches that were supposed to be open by December 1, 2022, were not, and still today there remains extreme concern about water quality. The DA hopes that the ANC in eThekwini will take up our offer and receive assistance from the City of Cape Town on how to best manage this continued nightmare that we have been forced to live with for so long,” Mthethwa said.
On Thursday, the City of Cape Town announced the reopening of Fish Hoek Beach, while Gordon’s Bay Beach remains closed.
“The main bathing area section at Fish Hoek Beach between the lifeguard station and Jager Walk was reopened on Wednesday. The temporary closure was due to a sewer overflow caused by a blocked sewer pipe that was cleared. Items such as plastics and materials were removed from the sewer pipe,” CoCT said in a media statement.
Meanwhile, a section of Gordon’s Bay Beach between the walkway and area in front of Spur remain temporarily closed until further notice.
CoCT explained that the temporary closure is due to a sewer overflow in the area related to a sewer pump station that tripped because inappropriate materials had been thrown into the local sewer network yet again.
“The pumps are being serviced and mitigation measures have been implemented in the meantime to maintain the sewer operations,” the City said.
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