The Moteane family is making a desperate plea to those in the municipality to come their aid.
According to Thabo Moteane, 40, who owns the property, a blocked manhole has led to his yard being flooded with sewage. It is so bad that he describes it as hell.
“It has not only broken up my family, but has cost me R35 000 every month. In the last three weeks, we have lost 12 tenants who had to evacuate the property because they were fearing for their health and were tired of living in the unhygienic conditions.”
Moteane said those who remain on the property, including him, are not able to use ablution facilities.
“My wife, our four-month-old baby and my sister also had to evacuate the place,” Moteane said.
Expressing his anger during an interview with the Herald, he said living on the property is a daily struggle as he has to use a bucket to get rid of some of the sewerage. He added, “Making my way around my own yard has become ‘hell’.
“How can you eat and live like this? It is a health risk to us and to my three dogs, which at times drink the faeces-polluted water. It is out of my control and out of control in general.
“The smell is quite bad and we can’t even open the windows because flies are everywhere.”
He said he was told by the municipality that the blockage – the major cause of the problem – is being caused by businesses that dispose of fatty products into drains.
“I have lost more than R35 000 after most of my tenants moved out. I am afraid that those who are still here will soon be moving out.
This is something that I wanted to invest in because I also spent R30 000 to have the property zoned as ‘business’,” he said.
He added that even when municipal workers came, they would stick things into the manhole and end up leaving without actually resolving anything.
“On numerous occasions they have left me hanging and did not assist.”
He went on to say it is embarrassing that he has to drive to his mother’s house to relieve himself.
“My tenants always have to pester the neighbours to relieve themselves. It is really unfair. How can I pay for municipal services when I am living in these conditions? I can’t generate an income from a property that I have invested in.
“I have been separated from my family simply because of a blocked manhole, something that could have easily been fixed, and yet I am expected to pay the rates and taxes for services that I don’t even get,” Moteane added.
Moteane’s neighbour, Teboho Marumo, added, “The situation is very bad and affects the whole street. Some people are even selling their homes. We pay for services every month and if we don’t pay they switch off our electricity, but fail to attend to the problem. I blame the municipality because they know that we have had this problem for years.”
