Durban — eThekwini Municipality deputy mayor Philani Mavundla has alleged that King Edward VIII Hospital is also to blame for the sewage spill as they are using paper towels instead of toilet paper.
The Daily News recently reported about the sewage spill outside this hospital which had gotten worse since September.
Street vendors and taxi operators who work outside the hospital alleged that the Department of Water and Sanitation interventions were in vain as the drains got blocked a few weeks after they had tried to fix them.
Mavundla admitted that the City is wrong but it should not be the only one to be blamed for this problem.
“The reality is that the hospital doesn't seem to be using toilet paper; instead it seems clear that paper towels are being used. Yes, the City is wrong in many ways but it is unfair to blame the City when it is the hospital that is causing the blockages,” he said.
When the Department of Health was approached about this, Ntokozo Maphisa, a spokesperson for the department, said the hospital is supplied with toilet paper.
“According to information at the disposal of the department, ablution facilities at King Edward VIII Hospital are adequately supplied with toilet paper,” said Maphisa.
Moreover, it is not clear if the hospital is doing anything about this because when the Daily News visited to report on the sewage outside the hospital, it found the hospital’s facility manager inspecting the three manholes where the sewage was coming from.
The publication has previously reported on sewage spills across the City of eThekwini. Recently the DA’s provincial chairperson, Dean Macpherson, conducted site visits of hotspots where sewage spills are a constant problem and have been for a long time.
Daily News