Residents of Khutsong Ext 3 complain that the Merafong City Local Municipality has still not resolved the sewerage problems in the area. According to Mizeria Zando, who stays at house no. 6243, the manhole in her yard started leaking about three years ago.

“The municipality came and fixed it, but the leak started again in February,” she says.

Since then, Zando and other community members have been calling the municipality for help.

So much sewage started leaking that it not only flooded Zando’s yard but also streamed into her house.
“When I called the ward councillor, he said I must open it myself, even though he knows that I am disabled. I was so disappointed because I had previously voted for him,” she says.

In the end, a group of other residents, led by Thabo Klaas, assisted Zando.

They used bricks and cement to channel the sewage flow out of Zando’s yard, instead of into her house.
Although this is some improvement, the dammed-up sewage can also cause a sinkhole.

By this week, Zando’s house was still damp from the waste that had leaked into it.

So much sewage had previously streamed into her house that it had washed holes into her gravel floors.

To make matters worse, there is also a crack of about 30cm deep between the paving stones near the family’s front door. Zando fears that this might be the start of a sinkhole that can cost her and her two children their home.

Although the Herald took the issue to the municipality on September 28, no feedback was received by printing time.