Residents in Extension 6, whose yards and streets turned into dams and rivers in this week's rain, have blamed construction contractors working in the area for leaving them stranded.
Residents in Extension 6, whose yards and streets turned into dams and rivers in this week's rain, have blamed construction contractors working in the area for leaving them stranded.
Grocott’s Mail reporters yesterday visited the worst affected areas affected and found unuseable roads and lives disrupted by knee-deep floods.
Resident Siphokazi Styoshwana said she hadn't been to work for two days this week because the water had risen to her doorstep and she couldn't go out.
“You can see for yourselves that you can’t come near this yard," she said.
"What I could say is that the municipality does not care about us and all they need is our votes when it's elections.
Now we have to be absent from work every time it rains hard,” said Sthyoshwana.
Siphokazi's elderly mother, Lizeka Styoshwana, who shares the house, said the problem started after contractors came to install toilets.
“The toilets have not even been finished and we don’t know the reason. Now we are suffering here and our kids have not been going to school since the rain started," Lizeka said.
"They can’t get out of the house because the water comes right up to the door," she added.
The contractors started working in the area last year.
Lizeka said the municipality was told about the problem a long time ago and Mayor Zamuxolo Peter and our ward councillor Nombulelo Masoma had come to assess the situation.
"They promised it would addressed. But the machinery they sent here to fix the road didn’t make any difference,” said Lizeka. Lizeka said the last time there were floods, she slipped and was hit by a car.
She said she was due to undergo an operation because of that accident. When she wants to go to town, she has to hire transport that will fetch her from the gate.
Themba Faltein, whose house was surrounded by water, also blamed the construction company that allegedly failed to complete its job. He said they had been told the trenches would be covered up again.
“The company destroyed our fences because they wanted to dig toilets inside our yards.
"Now they've also damaged the roads and drains. "I don’t even have running water because they broke the pipe serving my tap.
I have been without water for months. "Everything is messed up here and we don’t know what to do," said Faltein.
Ward councillor, Nombulelo Masoma, said the municipality was aware of the situation and things would return to normal when the construction of the toilets had been completed.
“When there's been lots of rain we send trucks there to pump the water away from the roads," Masoma said.
"Even yesterday [Wednesday 22 July] trucks were there to pump the water away.
"The road is used by heavy machineries and that is why it’s in a bad condition."
Masoma said the construction company wasn't able to work because of the mud.
"The situation will only come to normal when the toilets are finished there,” said Masoma.
Municipal spokesperson Yoliswa Ramokolo said various contractors were working in the area – some from Grahamstown and some from other centres.
