‘We’re waiting for disease to strike’ – Mokopane residents on the unbearable smell of sewage

Apart from the recent spike in cholera deaths caused by dirty water, residents of Mokopane in Limpopo fear also contracting water-borne diseases such as malaria and typhoid. And they accused their municipality, Mogalakwena, of neglecting them.

Some residents told The Citizen yesterday of the unbearable smell of sewage and uncollected garbage driving them out of their homes and businesses.

Sewage spillage

Houses and streets have been surrounded by piles of rotting garbage and stagnant sewage spillage that had been left unattended for weeks, they claimed.

“I depend on my business to put bread on the table for my family. But it has become impossible to make any profit because customers are complaining about the stench,” said a street vendor from Mahwelereng outside Mokopane, asking for her name to be withheld.

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Others said they feared that if not attended in time, the problems may lead to a cholera outbreak, malaria and typhoid as their children play in the dirt.

But appeals by the affected communities to the municipality to fix the problems have always fallen on deaf ears, Motlatso Selomo, chair for the Mogalakwena Concerned and Affected Communities (MCAC), said yesterday.

“Since 2019, scores of residents visited local clinics [for tests] for water-borne illnesses. Basking in the sun outside your house has also became impossible because of a terrible malodour coming from the spillage and garbage,” said Selomo.

For the past four years, the municipality has been reluctant to attend to their pleas, he said.

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“We had countless shutdowns in a push to get their attention. The following day, they would send a sizeable number of staff to fix a problem. But this did not last long as, a few days later, it still persisted.

“We now agreed in principle that no amount of shutdowns will fix the problems. We believe only the power of the pen will help. You, the media, are our last hope,” Selomo said.

‘Urgent attention’

Victor Mavhidula, provincial manager for the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), said the Mogalakwena fiasco was not new to the commission.

“The matter was reported to us not once, but many a time.”

Mavhidula said the commission had investigated the complaints and visited the affected areas with officials from the municipality.

“What we found was terrible and needed urgent attention.

“A few days later, our investigations revealed the problem was fixed. But, surprisingly, the same problems persisted weeks after,” Mavhidula said.

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“In light of this, we relaunched our investigations, which are now at an advanced stage. We are now waiting for the outcome of our second investigation.

“If we find it is not fixed, we will be forced to rope in the provincial department of cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs, under the tutelage of MEC Basikop Makamu, or approach the court for action as a last resort.

“But that will be a very unfortunate move because we need money to go to court. This is taxpayers’ money that would be used to compel government to do what it is, actually, required by law to do,” Mavhidula said.

Ageing infrastructure

Municipal spokesperson Malesela Selokela said the council was expecting a sum of R120 million from the department of water and sanitation to help strengthen “our ageing infrastructure in town and surrounding areas”.

“Some of the problems causing the reoccurrence of the spillage or blockage of the system is that we often find foreign objects, such as pieces of cloth, weaves, sanitary towels, nappies and plastics, flushed when fixing the system,” Selokela said.

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“We are pleading with the communities not to flush such items or throw them into the sewer as this will only escalate the problem. These kind of objects need to be thrown into a dustbin,” said Selokela.

– news@citizen.co.za