At 3 Hughes Road in Colenso lives a family who say they have to endure ‘disgusting conditions due to the arrogance and heartlessness of uThukela District Municipality’. Fanile Mkhize, the owner of the house, says he cannot use the toilet or shower in the bathroom because all the drain pipes are clogged up.
His wife cannot use the washing machine and they use a large basin to wash the dishes, again because the kitchen sink in unusable. Sewage flows everywhere in the house and this scenario becomes worse when the neighbours do their washing. “My family has endured life in these conditions for many years. We are now isolated because our relatives won’t visit us due to the filth and the smell of sewage in the house,” he says.
The sewage pumps were removed by the district municipality a long time ago and were never replaced.
Mkhize says he has become the laughing stock of uThukela District Municipality when he reports the matter. He also wrote a letter to the municipal manager, who never responded. When he wants to talk to the municipal manager, he is told that the MM is attending a meeting that will be followed by another meeting, and then another meeting!
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Mkhize has suffered severe chest pains on three occasions. The laboratory results showed that his blood was contaminated with bacteria called Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, which is a water-borne disease. Antibiotics had to be taken to clear it up. He bought drain-cleaning tools, but cannot use them because the sewage pumps are not there. When he called the plumbers, they also could not help because the municipality has to sort out the problem first before they can do work in the house.
“My steel fence is now crooked, and there are cracks in the outbuilding and brick fence due to the soggy ground. The tar on the driveway is being destroyed by the sewage flowing from the house,” he continues.
“Every summer, we cannot sleep peacefully because my house is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. I also cannot mow the lawn because of water seeping from the house. Van Riebeeck Street brings water to my house from a pipe that burst long ago and has not been repaired… Another example of the municipality wasting water. I reported a clogged storm-water drain long ago as well, but nothing was done. For many years I have had to tolerate the intolerable while paying for services,” fumed Mkhize.
uThukela spokesperson Jabulani Mkhonza was approached for a comment regarding the challenges people are facing in Colenso, but had not responded at the time of publishing this article.
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