Residents of Lufhereng have raised concerns over their houses which have started cracking and has left them fearing for their safety.
They believed this is due to the constant mining activity in the nearby Harmony Gold mine in Doornkop.
Residents told Urban News that when they moved to their area, nearly a decade ago as part of government’s RDP beneficiaries, their houses had no fault but have since gradually taken a massive hit with cracks showing everywhere.
Sibongile Jones started living in Lufhereng in 2011 says the cracks posed a major concern forn their safety as they feared that the houses would collapse on them.
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Jones told Urban News that she started paying attention this year. It has gotten worse as the cracks have been expanding to all areas, describing it as a ticking time bomb.
“At first we were not paying attention to it. And after we heard people talking about this, when we looked at the house – all around it showed cracks since then they have become more visible in recent months.
“From the top until the foundation/concrete slab which is barely intact. This house will sink in or collapse on us.”
She is among those who called for some compensation or houses being fixed or rebuilt, adding that in extreme cases, people be relocated before the worst happens.
“We don’t have information on anything. There has never been anyone to say if this occurs, these are the people to contact.
“We see it cracking but we don’t know what to do. We are concerned because if we lose these houses where we will go,” She said.
A neighbour to Jones, the Tsie family who moved to the area in 2012 shared similar concerns over the state of their safety and what would happen to their house if it continued to take more strain from the blasts.
The elderly couple left Zola where they had been living in a shack, when they were identified as ‘special case’ given their circumstances.
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“Mkhulu showed me when it started, the problem is mine. When the blast happens, we feel its impact because we are not far from the mine itself.
“When it happens you can feel the walls tremble, everything that is glass in the house shakes uncontrollably, it is scary,” the 63-year-old Sibongile Tsie shared.
“They don’t even notify us that they will be exploding, we just hear the rumbling sound that it is time. What is even harder is that it happens at night, we are old and we won’t reach for the door in time.”
