The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has called on residents to refrain from throwing or depositing foreign objects such as rubble, rags, sanitary products and car tyres into the sewer system, as these cause costly blockages, service disruptions and environmental health risks that affect entire communities, particularly children.
This was evident when the Sanitation Sub-directorate conducted an inspection of sanitation manholes in Ward 29, Chatty, as part of the Municipality’s ongoing service delivery monitoring and oversight programme.
The inspection revealed that several manholes in the area are severely blocked due to the disposal of waste and foreign objects into the sewer system.
Approximately six manholes have been affected, resulting in major blockages along the main sewer line and causing sewer spillages that have impacted households in the area.
Chatty remains one of the areas most affected by sanitation blockages and spillages.
Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor, Councillor Babalwa Lobishe, said the blockages of the sanitation infrastructure pose a serious health risk to the public.
“We need our people to work with us because all these spillages caused by foreign objects blocking our infrastructure end up in people’s yards and pose a risk, especially to children who play outside. We need to protect our sanitation infrastructure for our own wellbeing and for the safety of our children,” said Executive Mayor Lobishe.
22 June 2026 Public The deployed teams in Chatty on Monday, 22 June 2026, worked on unblocking the manholes and removed truckloads of foreign objects as part of interventions to clear the blockages.
In some manholes, the volume of foreign objects had already damaged the structures, resulting in major excavation and reconstruction work, an exercise expected to take several days to complete.
As part of this oversight work, the Office of the Chief Operating Officer (COO), which coordinates service delivery oversight, has intensified public awareness initiatives on the responsible use of sanitation infrastructure.
This work will continue across the Metro, with a focus on the most affected areas, including KwaZakhele, the Northern Areas, Veeplaas, Soweto-on-Sea and Walmer Township.
