Living conditions in Dukathole are a health hazard
Children play right next to the sewage and even pick up things in the water.
Dukathole residents are concerned about the state of their area and are worried about sewage flowing down the roads.
Residents are calling for better services.
Zanele Mbele, who lives in Dukhathole block 4, said the living conditions are unbearable.
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“We are constantly sick because of the filth surrounding us. Our health is at risk. When the sewage overflows it runs up to my doorstep. We can’t even leave the house when this happens,” said Mbele.
She said the biggest concern is the children because they have nowhere to play.
“Children play right next to the sewage and even pick up things in the water. We are constantly sick from this situation and it is a health hazard,” said Mbele.
Clean water is also a challenge.
“We need to go to the taxi rank to use the public taps and to use the toilets. Life is really difficult for us,” said Mbele.
In August, Executive Mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana visited the area as part of the mayoral outreach programme, Masisebenzeni.
One of the issues he acknowledged was a blocked drain that caused sewer water to flow next to Dukathole Primary School.
The same drain is blocked again and residents said this problem repeats.
ALSO READ: Dukathole residents fed up with leaking sewage
Ward Clr Ntuthuzelo Mpambani said the challenges in the area need urgent attention.
“The drain next to the school is constantly blocking and we always push for the water and sanitation department to unblock it.
We are also lobbying the department to avail funds to at least clean this drain once a month. We will have a community awareness meeting to engage the community to refrain from putting foreign objects in this drain,” said Mpambani.
He said blocks 4 and 5 are informal settlements with no services.
“There is no sewer infrastructure and residents have no other options,” said Mpambani.
The councillor said he is lobbying the council to pass a motion that will address the development of this congested area.
ALSO READ: Councillor concerned about illegal dumping in Dukathole
“Re-blocking is the sole solution to this matter and as we stand, we are still far from achieving this. We don’t have land to accommodate the overflow of people that will be re-blocked from blocks 4 and 5,” said Mpambani.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the CoE cleans the drains but people are the problem.
“As long we have people throwing foreign objects that clog the system, the problem will persist. We need the community to work with us to deal with this matter.
“The city launched Operation Siyakhulula Manje-Namhlanje to address the issue of sewer blockages across Ekurhuleni,” said Dlamini.
On the issue of re-blocking the city, Dlamini said CoE has a re-blocking programme.
“We cannot tell when the programme will go to Dukathole.
“The biggest problem there is that the structures are built without the knowledge of the municipality. It is unfortunate that this then frustrates efforts to render certain services to the community,” said Dlamini.
