Mokgoba resident Margaret Sathekge’s hurt and anger were unmistakable as she described to Zinzile Nxesi, from the City of Ekurhuleni mayor’s office, how a blocked sewer that has flooded her yard for the past three years has devastated her family’s health and quality of life.

Seated on a black plastic chair, surrounded by Nxesi and EMPD members on June 25 while the stench of raw sewage filled the air, Sathekge did not hold back as she criticised the municipality for years of inaction.

Addressing officials in Sepedi, she said: “Ge re ja, re ja masepa. Ge re robala, re robala masepa” (When we eat, we eat faeces. When we sleep, we sleep in faeces).

The sewer overflows behind her toilet, with wastewater struggling to drain as gurgling sounds echo through the yard. Sathekge has built a small enclosure to hide faeces spilling from the manhole and dug a channel to direct the sewage towards a nearby farm behind her home.

“My bedroom and kitchen are right next to the toilet. When I sleep, all that stench comes into my house. We don’t have water now. Tell me what my yard will look like when the water comes back.

“The sewer is not flowing. I don’t know what to do anymore. You say we should vote, but why should I vote when the municipality has ignored my complaints for the past three years? Why should I vote when I live in such appalling conditions?” she asked.

Speaking to the Benoni City Times, Sathekge said she has lived in Mokgoba since 1999 and has been waiting for an RDP house ever since. She said repeated pleas to ward councillors have brought no assistance.

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“When I returned from Limpopo a few years ago, I was told officials had come to prepare for my RDP house. I’ve been waiting ever since. I’ve lived here since 1999. I’m a South African, but foreigners live better than I do because I don’t have money,” she said.

“God will forgive me, but I’m speaking from my heart. What do we vote for? They deliver services to foreign nationals, not to us, yet we’re the ones voting. It’s painful. I’m unemployed. What am I supposed to do?”

Unable to use her own toilet, Sathekge said she has been forced to move her shack four times over the past three years because of the overflowing sewage.

“We use my neighbour’s toilet,” she said. “I don’t even want to talk about my house because it’s always flooded by sewer water. When it rains, I sleep standing.”

She believes the conditions are affecting her health.

“I am ill. I cough a lot. At night the stench fills my house. It’s not nice. I’m pleading with the government to help me.”

Meanwhile, Mokgoba residents staged a shutdown on June 25, blocking roads with rocks and burning tyres before gathering at the community’s main ground to air their grievances to municipal officials.

“We are not happy with how the municipality responded to our complaints,” said community leader California Bikizana.

“We showed Mr Nxesi the state of our roads and the blocked manholes. He called municipal officials to have them unblocked, but they still haven’t come. We’ve been waiting since last November.”

We are awaiting comment from the municipality.

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