An elderly resident of Khutsong cannot continue with a normal life due to the sewage constantly leaking in her yard. Motorists who drive past the yard of Mary Ncwane at no. 4819 in Skopas in Khutsong must drive very carefully as there are often pedestrians on the busy main road.

They cannot walk on the sidewalk as it is completely flooded with sewage streaming from her yard. “It has been like this for about the past ten years. I have contacted the municipality so many times, but they have not solved my problem,” she says.

Not only is the sidewalk flooded with sewage, but also the Ncwane family’s backyard. There are ten people staying in the house, four of which are her grandchildren who are between two and 14 years old.

“It smells terrible and the mosquitoes bite us all the time, but what can we do? This is our only home,” says the worried pensioner.

As the area’s houses are built on dolomitic ground, there is also a possibility that the ongoing leaks can lead to sinkholes. She mentions that other residents of the Skopas area have similar problems.

Although the Merafong City Local Municipality has paid contractors millions to fix the problems on the area’s sewerage system, the issues prevail.

For the past few years, they have been sending contractors with honey-sucker trucks to remove the excess sewage from the system.

“These trucks only come two times a week. If they suck out the sewage it usually takes less than a day for our problems to start again,” Ncwane complains.

The Herald took the concerns to the municipality on Monday, but they did not respond.