What was meant to be a street improvement project has turned into a nightmare for residents of Ext 4. Homeowners claim that poor work by a municipal contractor is now causing their houses to flood every time it rains.

According to Kabelo Klaas Masebeni of house no. 4016, the trouble began in 2024 when a contractor hired by the Merafong City Local Municipality started preparing to pave their street near Imfundo Secondary School.

Masebeni claims the contractor took out gravel to level the street and dumped it on the sidewalk.

After residents complained, the contractor, reportedly from Limpopo, spread this gravel onto the sidewalks instead of removing it. This added gravel made the sidewalks, and the paved road built afterwards, higher than the residents’ yards. “This means that every time it rains, the rain dams up in our yards and floods our houses,” complains Masebeni.

At some homes, the sidewalk is now so high that residents cannot drive their cars into their own properties. Masebeni’s neighbour is forced to park across the street because their driveway is inaccessible. “I talked to the contractor and explained the problem to them when they started, but they did not listen. I then notified my street committee, my ward committee, my ward councillor, and municipal officials, but no one helped,” he says.

With the project completed in December and the issues still unresolved, Mr. Masebeni says he is ready to take the matter to the Public Protector. “I cannot just stay quiet. If they can get away with it here, they can do it in other places as well,” he laments. The municipality did not reply to questions about the matter.