By Malikhanye Mankayi
Residents of Extension 8 and Transit Camp township have expressed their frustration with the Makana Municipality’s failure to resolve their sewage situation, which they have been facing for many years since 1998.
Extension 8 resident Boniswa Stamper says, “We have this sewage problem which is affecting us very badly for years. We have been sending complaints about this drainage system to the municipality offices”.
She said, “In addition to the sewage we are dealing with, the sewage gets inside the house when we breathe under this condition, which puts our health at risk.”
Mvuyisile Mini, another Extension 8 resident who has been affected by a leaking pipe of water from the neighbourhood since Monday this week, says, “This situation frustrates me because the water enters the kitchen room, and I am not pleased at all with this situation” said Mini.
Another resident, Ntombetsha Tulwana, is also affected by the sewage said, “This thing will make us sick because the smell of it enters the house, and now the sewage is close to entering the house, our yard is wet we can’t even go to the bathroom, and it affects us badly because we eat pills.”
“I think this is a third year that we’ve been reporting this; it is not starting now,” said Zalisile Ncwadi, who lives on the same street as the other residents. Ncwadi said that when they report the sewage spillage to the Municipality, the Municipality does not fix the issue because once they leave, the problem resurfaces.
Ncwadi alleges that the Municipality identified the pipes as too small, leading to blockage and eventually bursting. “They never said anything about returning to replace the pipes,” said Ncwadi.
A few hours after Grocott’s Mail visited five of the homes affected by the sewage, residents told Grocott’s Mail that Makana Municipality arrived to stop the leakage of the drainage system.
Grocott’s Mail contacted Ward 5 councillor Gcobisa Mene and could not get a comment at the time of publishing.
