27 January 2026
Upgrades to the Polokwane Wastewater Treatment Works were meant to be completed by August last year. Photo: Bernard Chiguvare
“The municipality is forcing us to live with this bad smell year after year,” says Phaladi Mashego, who has lived for more than five years in Emdor township, Polokwane, Limpopo.
Across the Blood River, in neighbouring Ladana township, residents report the same problem.
The stench of sewage is so strong that “it feels like it is coming from inside the house”, he said.
His neighbours relocated because of the smell, and now rent out their house.
Gilbert Moabelo, who has lived in Emdor since the 1990s, said the stench started around 2000. He said residents have repeatedly complained to the municipality, but the problem has never been solved.
Moabelo said the smell comes from the Polokwane wastewater treatment plant, about two kilometres away, which he believes cannot cope with the sewage from the expanding townships. He said the wastewater overflows into the Blood River. The municipality denied this.
Upgrades to the Polokwane Wastewater Treatment Works, to increase capacity to treat 20 megalitres per day, commenced in July 2023. The project was scheduled to be completed by August 2025 at a cost of R362-million.
Polokwane municipality spokesperson Thipa Selala said delays were caused by poor performance by the contractor, whose contract was terminated. R115-million has been paid out so far.
The completion date has been extended to the 2028/29 financial year. Selala said there is no revised project cost yet, and the procurement process to appoint a new contractor is underway.
Selala said the municipality has introduced bio-digester enzymes to reduce sludge accumulating in the sewer lines.
He said one of the two primary settling tanks is expected to be brought back online before the end of January, which “will significantly improve sludge management and reduce odour levels”.
To ensure the new deadline is met, Selala said the municipality has ring-fenced funding and is strengthening project oversight and contract management.