The eThekwini Municipality postponed a meeting with the media on the ongoing maintenance and repair work of the wastewater treatment works in Merebank on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the meeting was postponed to allow the city time to engage community members around matters relating to the functioning of wastewater treatment works in their area.

eThekwini Mayor Councillor Cyril Xaba was supposed to update members of the media on the repair work. This is in keeping with the municipality’s priority of ensuring that wastewater treatment works are functioning optimally to ensure that the environment and the health of surrounding communities is not compromised.

In recent weeks, matters relating to water quality and the state of the city’s wastewater treatment works as well as their impact on rivers and beaches have come under the spotlight.

Xaba had visited the Merewent community in October 2024.

Merebank resident Raven Naidoo said there was a problem with the Southern Wastewater Treatment Works (SWWTW) in Merebank for several years.

“The plant has outgrown the capacity it handles. They should be thinking of an alternative sewage work. It is creating an environmental issue. They need to allocate adequate funding to be in-line with the current volume or build another plant. It is not fair on the residents from Merebank,” Naidoo.

South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) co-ordinator Desmond D’Sa said Xaba promised he would return and that their problems would be addressed.

“He never returned, and as a result, the residents of Merebank are having their meals with a strong stench of sewage in their homes. Like the previous mayors who failed the citizens of the city with poor governance and a lack of service delivery, this mayor has a wonderful smile which hides the truth better than the others,” D’sa said.

D’Sa said he welcomes the move by Xaba to consult with the residents again.

“You just got to visit Clairwood, Merebank, and Wentworth and lack of maintenance of the area stares you in the face. It is no wonder the residents have given up because of false promises,” he said.

Two weeks ago, the municipality announced the closure of two bathing beaches in uMhlanga following the discovery of unidentified brown balls on the sea sand. Laboratory results released by scientists from the Scientific Services of samples taken from the solid “balls”, found that the solid particles are fats, likely originating from food establishments.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za