“I will be heartbroken if we have to move away from this place because we feel at home, here. Where else will we go? Who will we meet at the new place?”
The family of 58-year-old Maserai Sarah Mafisa faces these uncertainties, discomfort and sadness at the possibility of being relocated after a sinkhole fell in a few metres from their 8-room house in Rev. Phetlhu Street in Ikageng two weeks ago.
The bubbly, retired teacher and mother of three says they had a sleepless Wednesday night and feared for their lives. However, her heart is at peace right now after the Tlokwe municipality, together with dolomite experts, fixed the leaking pipe that was responsible for eroding the dolomite.
“I feel much better now that they have realised where the problem lies. I am happy that the municipality and the mayor are concerned about us residents and have done their job to attend to the problem and find ways to fix it. They did not just leave us in limbo, and it shows that they do care,” she said.
Maserai says the experts were there last Monday to meet with the affected families. According to her, two families, including her own, will be temporarily moved so that more digging and tests can be conducted on the sinkhole.
This move, albeit not permanent, is still of concern to Maserai because they still do not know where they will be staying.
“It is not a good feeling to move. I don’t want to be moved to an empty hall in this harsh cold of winter. I want a comfortable place where I’ll be warm and happy… Look at my house,” she points to the huge house that has served as a place full of warmth and love for years. “I am more concerned about the place we are moving to and believe we should be treated like humans.”
The sinkhole has definitely disrupted the lives of the family.
“It came at the worst possible time because I recently spent more than R350 000 to complete the renovations to my house, and that excludes what I spent on purchasing the house in 2002. If we have to relocate from this place, it will be dreadful,” she said. However, she fully understands the dolomite risks for the family home and says there is nothing they can do as safety is of utmost importance in this situation.
Photo: Dustin Wetdewich
The two security guards at the cordoned off area near Maserai’s house are also unsure of the stability of the ground near their cubicle.
“During daylight, there is no problem because we can see the affected area. At night, we can’t see anything and we will not know if anything happens. We believe the hole is growing by the day,” said one guard. Their anxiety is understandable because they have not been enlightened about what dolomite is, how it is formed, what causes a sink-hole or the risks in a dolomitic area.
“We were only told there is a new place where we are going to be stationed,” commented one guard. Despite fearing for their safety, the two say they are doing their job to the best of their ability and keeping children and everyone else from the pit and safeguarding their lives.
William Maphosa, the municipal spokesperson, says they are waiting for geologists to complete their tests in the area. He could not say where the two families will be moved in the meantime.
“The executive mayor will present a comprehensive report on the dolomite issue for the whole of Tlokwe at a later date,” he said.
