Angry residents of Soshanguve Block T have handed a petition to the City of Tshwane’s Section 79 Standing Committee, demanding urgent action to address storm-water drainage issues that cause severe flooding in their area during the rainy season.

The petition cites service‑delivery failures, including unresponsive city services, a shortage of tarred roads, and points to the newly-built Boikhutsong clinic as the main culprit, noting it was erected without the city’s required approvals.

Local councillor Phindile Chiota said: “When I took office in 2021 the problem was already there. Residents told me the clinic is the cause and we need proper drainage. In the past we couldn’t fix it because of a budget shortfall.” 

According to her, the water comes straight from the clinic, flooding the yards and even houses during the rainy season.

She said some petitioners were recently called to attend a committee meeting to discuss the storm‑water problems in her ward.

“The problem has not yet been solved and it is not part of the IDP (integrated development plan) for this current financial year,” she said.

At a recent committee meeting, Livhuwani Nemuthenga, the city’s health‑department divisional head for capital projects, admitted the clinic is creating storm‑water problems because it was built without proper consultation with the city’s Roads and Transport Department.

The Gauteng provincial government has been in the process of regularising the challenges that have arisen after they constructed the facility without approved building plans, according to a Tshwane council report.

The report noted that the Gauteng Health Department is aware of the storm‑water issue affecting the community.

The department representative known as Mr Khobo, who attended the committee meeting, said water already pooled there before the clinic construction.

He added that the department has been engaging the city’s Roads and Transport Department to fix the current problems. 

Parties at the meeting said the storm‑water problems also stem from the gravel roads, especially in the rainy season, and that four roads were earmarked for tarring.

The meeting resolved that the Gauteng Health Department must keep pushing to fix the problems that arose because of the lack of consultation during the clinic construction. 

It was also resolved that the department must consult the city thoroughly to avoid repeats, and that the city’s Roads and Transport Department forward a request for tarring and a storm‑water system to the IDP for the 2026/2027 financial year. 

Frank Lambert, city’s official indicated that it was not the first time that a clinic was built without proper consultation with the city, referring to a clinic in Mamelodi.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

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