Durban — The sewage spilling from three manholes outside King Edward VIII Hospital in Umbilo, Durban has increased in volume since the Daily News last visit in September.
Patients and street vendors are daily forced to confront human waste and toilet paper in the area. Water is also leaking from pipes at the hospital’s walls.
When the Daily News visited the hospital on Tuesday, eThekwini Municipality officials and someone wearing a “facility manager tag” were walking around the sewage and taking notes.
When approached they said they were conducting a site visit. The “facility manager” of the hospital said he was not obliged to speak to the media but insisted that they knew what was causing the problem.
A municipal official also he would not speak to the media.
The Daily News was informed at the scene that the officials conducting the site visit were from the municipality’s water and waste department.
A taxi driver who called himself Malema said the sewage was a health hazard and it had been spilling from the manholes “for quite some time”.
“We would like this problem to be solved; we transport the patients from these hospitals and we park here from time to time. This is not healthy, especially for patients,” said Malema.
A vendor who said she had been selling fruit, snacks and maize outside the hospital said she also wanted the problem to be addressed.
Last week, DA provincial chairperson Dean Macpherson conducted inspections at several places where sewage spills were occurring, including at King Edward VIII Hospital.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city expeditiously attended to any clogged manholes brought to its attention, which included the manholes at the hospital.
“We are appealing to all our residents to refrain from disposing of foreign objects into our sanitation system which is a reason for it to be blocked,” said Mayisela.
The department of health maintained the sewage spilling from the three manholes at the hospital was a municipal issue and said any queries or concerns should be addressed to the municipality.
Daily News