Shack dwellers from Makhaza Road Reserved Informal Settlement had to evacuate their shacks after they were flooded with sewage on Saturday 29 November. More than three drains in the area had burst, causing an unbearable stench.
The area chair Xolelwa Mjekula, also a flood victim, described worsening conditions in the area. She said three shacks sank into the sand after the sewage pipe burst.
“This whole saga started in one of the shacks. We saw the sewage coming from underground into the shack, then to add to the shock the shack sank. The same thing happened to another shack, and another… In the end there were three of them. The gush of the sewage spill was just too much.” Mjekula said the pipe burst had even affected drains in the area.
She said residents had to leave their shacks and stay with friends and family members, and needed to be moved to a safer place
“This is a health hazard, so we are not safe, especially the children because they want to play in the dirty water. The City must do something. It can’t be business as usual, as if nothing happened.” The owner of a meat stall at the Jeff Masemola Road-Nyanda Avenue intersection, known as “Ma Mqwathi”, said she had stopped working since the sewage pipe burst. “We had to close our businesses because of the sewage… And we will probably have to continue sitting at home until the City decides to fix the problem.”
Ward 96 councillor Lucky Mbiza said City employees were still trying to ascertain what the problem was.
“We suspect a sewage pipe burst. But we will find out after they have completed their work. The priority now is to stop the sewage from coming out and drain the dirty water from the shacks. No-one deserves to dwell in a mess. We will try our best to fix the damage.” Mbiza said if there was a need for shacks to be relocated then so be it.
