Unbearable stench forces Moutse residents to lock down themselves
'We are not pigs, but we are being treated like ones because we are fed garbage,' said Coolie Vilakazi, chairperson for the residents of Dennilton, Moutse.
Picture for illustration. Sewage leaking into a river. Picture: Lowvelder.
Communities from around Philadelphia Hospital in the Sekhukhune region of Limpopo are spending their days indoors not because of the lockdown, but because of the unbearable stench coming from the Moutse Sewerage Plant, which is spilling waste onto the streets.
Now, the community claims they are forced not only to fight the spread of the deadly coronavirus, but also the possible outbreak of cholera and typhoid.
“We are not pigs, but we are being treated like ones because we are fed garbage,” said Coolie Vilakazi, the chairperson for the residents in Dennilton, Moutse.
“We go to the toilet when we are pressed, but we are later forced to eat the wastes through the pong, coming from the dysfunctional plant.”
He said the municipality hired a contractor to drain pit toilets in Thabakhubidu in Ga-Ntwane, who then emptied the human waste in people’s backyards.
“This conduct was not only reckless and stupid, but it is also endangering the lives of people,” added Vilakazi on Wednesday.
The community leader said that it was an open secret that the Sekhukhune region was experiencing water shortages.
Investigations by The Citizen revealed that the plant was initially designed to cover the hospital with not more than 500 beds. But the plant is now covering the hospital, the community surrounding the hospital and the Moutse Mall with its entire populace, including hostels.
It was also established that communities affected by the dysfunctional plant included 1 Morgan up to 5 Morgan, Jabulani Section and Sereme Combined School in Dennilton.
Virginia Makgaphola, a member of the school governing body at Sereme Combined School, said they had tried for many years to plead with the district to revamp the plant.
“It seems our pleas fell on deaf ears,” she said.
Seun Mokgotji, the national secretary of the Bolsheviks party, said they raised their concerns without any success.
Sekhukhune district municipality spokesperson Moloko Moloto said: “Our assessment has recommended that the sewage plant be upgraded and the municipality is attending to it.”
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