FOR the last three years, residents from Makhaya-S Ngoku in Masiphumelele have woken to the smell of spilling sewage.
The unbearable smell, residents say, greets them from a distance and they have no choice but to walk through human effluent when visiting neighbours.
They say this is as a result of a broken pipe in chemical toilets provided by the City, and several attempts to fix it have not worked.
Community activist Rosemary Millbank said the SA Human Rights Commission visited the area six months ago to inspect the toilets, but nothing came of their visit.
Millbank wrote to Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille last week, asking her investigate the situation.
“This sewage which pours out of broken pipes seeps inside someone’s home. I have been assured in the past that toilets are cleaned every day and fixed as soon as problems arise.
“Service delivery in Masi is absolutely shocking. The danger to people’s health is frightening. Are we waiting for an outbreak of cholera?” Millbank said.
Acting Mayco member for utility services Xanthea Limberg denied the allegations, saying the toilets were cleaned every day.
Limberg said illegal dumping into the sewerage system caused problems.
“In most cases, blocked and overflowing toilets and sewers can be attributed to the rags, rubble and general litter that are thrown down the toilet or into the sewer system, or simply to vandalism.
“A toilet that has been fixed can start overflowing again almost immediately due to this abuse. If conditions are going to improve, we need the residents to meet us halfway, as well as providing detailed information on the location of the fault so that it can be attended to as quickly as possible,” Limberg said.
Resident Thembisile Giwu said she had given up on using her toilet and prefers to walk to the neighbours’ RDP houses. She said her month-old baby had developed a skin rash because of unhygienic conditions they live in.
“Our children always get sick here. If I had a relative somewhere, I could have left this place a long time ago. But I have nowhere to go, I am stuck in this smell. Imagine having to eat while this disgusting smell fills the air,” she said.
Noluvo Myeki said she uses her neighbour’s lines to hang her washing because the stench does not hang as heavy there. “This has been our daily struggle since we arrived here three years ago. This smell is part our lives.”
Residents can log service requests at 0860 103 089 or by sending an SMS to 31373 (with a maximum of 160 characters).