A granny in Khutsong is currently living in fear that her whole yard is going to open up due to ground instability.
According to Mrs Leah Molantoa (76), who stays in house No. 6212 in Ext. 3, she has been living in fear for the past
month after various cracks suddenly started to appear in her yard. Even the floor inside her informal house has started cracking.
‘It happened on 18 or 19 February. I immediately moved my mother out of the house as I was afraid that something might happen to her. We called the municipality and someone came out. They said the house is too dangerous for my mother to stay in,’ said her son, Mr Solomon Molantoa.
As his mother has nowhere else to go, she has to stay with her son in another shack on the same property.
According to the pensioner, the cracks have shrunk since the recent rains have stopped.
‘I prayed a lot and I am sure that this is why the cracks have become smaller. I am sure the Lord will save me,’
Mrs Molantoa said and even showed the Herald how she was able to walk over her cracked kitchen floor into her living room.
The family believes the cracks were caused by the ground instability from thousands of litres of sewage that leaked
into the backyard from an overflowing manhole nearby. Several yards have been affected by this problem for some
time. Huge sewage leaks have been a problem in this area for years.
To make matters worse, Mrs Molantoa says she does not qualify for a lowcost house because, according to government records, she already has a house somewhere else in Khutsong.
‘We do not have a house anywhere else and I do not know what will happen to us if we have to leave here because of the ground problems. My mother has stayed in Khutsong for decades. We moved here from ‘Spooktown’ when Ext.
3 was developed in 1993 and we have been living here ever since. I do not know why the government does not want to help us,’ Solomon told the Herald.
When the Herald asked the Merafong City Local Municipality about the problems at the house on Monday, it
acknowledged that they were caused by the sewage leak.
‘The municipality is aware of the cracks at house No. 6212. Geologists have done an inspection and we are
awaiting their recommendations. They were caused by the constant leaking of the sewerage. The sewer blockage was
caused by the collapse of the outfall sewer line. Honey-sucker trucks will be used as a temporary measure to eliminate the ongoing spills in the area,’ a municipal spokesperson said.
