Having Wharf Street reopened is good news for taxi operators and their passengers, pedestrian commuters and the tourism industry. At a ceremony to officially reopen the newly resurfaced road, various speakers expressed relief that the important link connecting Nemato, Station Hill and the Port Alfred CBD was once again open for business.

Safety was an important focus and Port Alfred Crime Fighters’ Bonakele Moyikwa said that while having the road open to traffic made it safer for people walking to and from work, street lights were needed. “People walking to town have been robbed,” he said.

“We really are so happy,” Uncedo Taxi Association chairperson Ayanda Zoli said. “For quite a few years, this road was in a really bad state. Not only were the terrible potholes causing expensive damage to vehicles wheels, but they were also causing accidents.”

He said taxis had been doing around 3km extra per trip because of the detour. With four or five there-and-back trips a day that was an extra 24 km a day. A rough calculation at a consumption rate of 7.5-8.5 litres/100km consumption puts the extra cost per day at around R45.

Infrastructure portfolio councillor Siphokazi Dyakala  said the road had been closed in November 2022 and was scheduled to take eight months to complete. “But it took a year longer,” she said, acknowledging the frustration of local businesses and the taxi industry.

Dyakala noted that the municipality’s main project had been the laying of new sewerage reticulation that would feed into the main sewer line and pump station, which in turn will feed the sewage reclamation plant near Centenary Park.

Ndlambe Mayor Khululwa Ncamiso said the municipality had been given a water services infrastructure (WSIG) grant for the Port Alfred sewerage infrastructure implementation project. There have for many years been frequent sewage spills due to sewage pump stations failing. Loadshedding was often the cause; however, the biggest problem was vandalism of three key pump stations by metal thieves.

The sewerage system failures, along with drought conditions (less flushing) affected the viability of the QFS 5-megalitre waste- and seawater reclamation plant: it was designed to process 3ML of waste water from the sewerage works, and 2ML of seawater to form a significant part of the water supply for a growing Port Alfred.

The new single pump station would eliminate the frequently failing pump stations by gravity-feeding sewage to a new sewage pump station next to the Nuwater reverse osmosis plant. This single pump station will then pump sewage directly to the Port Alfred Waste Water Treatment Works thus also unlocking the reclamation plant. Having the critical infrastructure and backup generator in one location will make it easier to secure.

The sewerage project was delayed because the contractor was not up to the task, and SMMEs appointed, as per the municipality’s mandate, had not responded to mentorship and guidance.

A new contractor was appointed, whom municipal manager Rolly Dumezweni said was the best in the province. Further delays were the result of the terrain: an environmentally sensitive and unstable wetland. Unpredictable water ingress (because it’s a wetland), plus rain had further delayed progress.

The new contractor and new SMMEs are currently in the first phase of the overall sewerage project. The sewerage line runs behind the Wharf Street businesses, on the provincial road.

At Tuesday’s Heritage Day event, Ncamiso said that while the municipality’s contractors were busy with the sewerage upgrades, the province had undertaken the rehabilitation of the road.

“Sometimes, you do something good and people don’t know about it,” she said. “We’d like them to know about this collaboration to benefit citizens and visitors to Port Alfred.”

Ncamiso said many work opportunities had been created throught the appointment of five SMMEs.

“This is the start of good things,” she said.

Speaker Andile Marasi had earlier emphasised a similar theme, saying, “We do projects but we don’t tell people. This is the start of good things going forward.”

Marasi was at pains to emphasise that the event was not a political but a civic one. “Thast’s why we have SANCO (the South African National Civic Organisation) and Uncedo Taxi Association here,” he told the gathering.

However, both the DA and EFF leadership in council were absent. EFF PR councillor Xolisa Runeli had earlier told Talk of the Town they would be boycotting the event.

“It’s cheap political grandstanding, going for soft targets,” Runeli said. “The question should be, is the sewerage project completed? Insrtead of cutting a ribbon for a road, the Mayor should be cutting a ribbon for a completed sewerage project, so we don’t have floods of sewerage running through our town.

“Also, does it mean that she will be taking over that road? Does it mean that the municipality will be held liable for whatever accident happns on that road because of her cutting a ribbon for that road?

• This article was first published in Talk of the Town, September 26, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.