Several families in Khutsong are without water, electricity, and sewerage services after the Merafong City Local Municipality only completed some work after sinkholes caved in next to their yards.

A section of Khutsong’s main road, Sompani Drive, was closed for about four years after several sinkholes caved in under it due to ongoing sewage leaks.

Although a municipal contractor, Jolinkomo Trading, fixed the road last month, and the executive mayor Nozuko Best officially reopened it last week, residents staying next to the road are still stuck high and dry without services.

“We are very happy that the road is open, but we still do not have water or electricity and our toilets are also not functioning because there is no water to run it,” says one of the residents, Mamemlo Baas.

According to Tenyane and other residents, the problems stem from the fact that although the municipality fixed the road next to their houses, they did not sort out the problems with the sewerage, water, and electrical system. No one is sure what has been done with the pipes under their houses that were damaged by the sinkholes and whether these have been reconnected to the rest of the sewerage and water system.

“We asked the mayor what was going on when she was here last week, but she said we ‘just have to wait’,” says a relative of Baas, Agnes Tenyane.

The residents say that they struggle to get on without services. They must go to houses on the other side of where the sinkholes used to be to get water for bathing and washing.

They then re-use this water to flush their toilets.

Although they have electrical equipment such as refrigerators and washing machines from before the time that the sinkholes caved in, they cannot use these because there is no electricity.

“The municipality wanted us to move to an RDP after the sinkholes, but we did not want to because there was nothing wrong with our house.

“We are not scared to be here because we know that the ground under it is solid,” says Baas.

According to an opposition party councillor, Welile Fihla, it is still unsure when the problems will be sorted out.

“The municipality says that they have a geotechnical report that shows that this area is safe, but no one has seen it. They say that the affected residents should go to Eskom to ask to have their electricity reconnected, but that is unfair because it was the municipality’s negligence that caused the sinkholes in the first place,” says Fihla.

The Herald did ask the municipality’s marketing and communications manager, Temba Fezani, about the houses on Monday, but the municipality did not respond.