Owethu Rubeka stands in Sulima Street, where sewage collects in the badly deteriorated road near her family’s home and preschool. Photo | Wayne van der Walt
WESSELTON – Sewage is flowing from two manholes down Sulima Street close to homes, Little Learning Bird Preschool and Lindile Secondary School.
A strong stench filled the area when Highvelder visited the area this morning, while sewage made its way along the badly deteriorated street.
Discoloured water flows through a channel in Wesselton, with livestock grazing nearby. Photo | Wayne van der Walt
Residents say the problem has persisted for years despite repeatedly reporting it to the Msukaligwa Local Municipality.
Owethu Rubeka, who runs Little Learning Bird from her family home along the affected stretch, said she has lived at the property for three years and the sewage and poor road conditions have been a problem throughout that time.
Children could be seen playing behind the property’s enclosed gate, mere metres from the sewage.
“We report it, but they don’t bother,” Rubeka said.
Sewage flows from a manhole in Sulima Street, Wesselton, where residents say the problem has persisted for years. Photo: Wayne van der Walt
Another Sulima Street resident, who asked not to be identified, also claimed the sewage problem had persisted for years.
She, too, claimed residents have been living with the sewage problem for years.
To illustrate how long it has formed part of daily life in the area, the woman referred to her 12-year-old child, saying sewage-filled streets were all the child had known while growing up there.
Sewage flows alongside the boundary of Lindile Secondary School in Wesselton. Photo: Wayne van der Walt
Questions were sent to Msukaligwa Local Municipality spokesperson Mandla Zwane about the latest sewage problem, residents’ claims and its proximity to children.
Zwane had not responded at the time of going to press.
Read more about residents’ experiences, previous sewage incidents near Lindile Secondary School and earlier interventions in the Highvelder’s printed edition.
At Caxton, every story is written by humans. We use AI only to perform quality checks - never to generate the news. Happy reading!
Wayne van der Walt, with around 15 years in the media industry, is editor of Highvelder Newspaper. His accolades include Frewin Awards for Newspaper of the Year and Front Page of the Year, and FCJ Photographer of the Year, among other honours.
