Residents at Merafe hostel are concerned about the waste scattered around the hostel and the sewage leaks that are left unattended.
Fikile Mbele (64) said that the hostel is surrounded by waste and water from leaking pipes and sewerages.
“The municipality does nothing for the hostel, waste is found everywhere in the hostel.
“We do not have waste baskets and there is no one responsible for collecting it.
“We try to collect the waste and burn it but it becomes impossible to keep the area clean,” said Mbele.
Mbele said that she arrived at the hostel in 1998 and till today there are no major improvements at the hostel except for the installation of electricity and water pipes which are giving them a problem because they leak.
Mbele stays at the hostel with her son (23) and daughter (31) and two grandchildren in a one bedroom house.
“The house is too small for all 5 of us. In order to create space, I turned the kitchen into a bedroom in order to accommodate my daughter. The bathroom is too small and sometimes the toilet blocks as the resulting water floods the house,” she said.
Xolile Mazibuko (38) another concerned resident at the hostel said that the hostel is too polluted.
“I am worried about our children’s health.
“My child suffers a lot from sinuses. If the municipality fails to collect the waste they should hire us to clean up the place because we are unemployed,” she said.
Mbele said that they are taking this as gods will because there is nothing they can do.
