Residents of Jikeleza Informal Settlement in Extention 3, Wesselton, are living in extreme conditions.
The settlement has seen no progress in service delivery, two decades into its existence.
According to residents, they have been living in shacks with no running water and make use of a long-drop toilet system.
The communal toilets have been vandalised and only one is working that is locked by the “owner”.
They make use of the natural spring whenever their communal tap, which they constructed themselves, runs out of water.
However, the spring is riddled with pollution due to a dumpsite surrounding it as residents dump everything and anything in and around the water.
Despite numerous cleanups by environmental groups and the police, people continue to dump waste, with even the occasional dead animal disposed of into the spring.
Some residents have acknowledged that they are part of the problem, however, they say they have no option but to use the dirty water.
They claim more than 150 households in Jikeleza use only the one tap.
Whenever it does not work, another communal tap in a neighbouring informal settlement is the other option, but it becomes crowded and they spend hours on end in long queues.
It is even alleged that some community members drink the water from the spring while they wait in the queues.
The water pressure is low when the tap is opened because it sources from a nearby communal tap and residents are digging, installing and connecting pipes from the same line.
“I have been living here since pre-1994 when we were evicted from farms during apartheid, but not much has changed,” Mr Mbuzo Simelane, community leader, said.
He said the tap has been a saving grace because it is not ideal to consume water from the spring.
Housing is a sore point and locals said they have had more than their share of empty promises from the government regarding low-cost housing.
“I do not know how many housing lists I have been on and still to this day, I am yet to get a house,” a resident said.
The residents are in despair that their informal settlement is one of the oldest of Wesselton, but other sections in Wesselton are progressing and residents are getting RDP houses.
When the Highvelder enquired at Msukaligwa Municipality regarding the status quo at Jikeleza, the municipality urged residents evicted from farms pre-1994 residing at the informal settlement, to register their claims.
“This is another form of land invasion because the land is not suitable, however, these residents moving into Jikeleza is unique because they were forced out of the farms so they can register land claims,” said Mr Mandla Zwane, Msukaligwa Municipality spokesman.
Regarding service delivery, the municipality acknowledges that the situation is dire but they are looking into it.
