Families unable to use their bathrooms
Two families who are neighbours were forced to inhale the unpleasant stench of faeces and bits of toilet paper were floating inside and outside the houses.
A sewage problem has left two families from Nellmapius stuck.
They are now afraid to use their bathrooms because of the blocked drain outside their homes.
Paulinah Masango (63) and Martha Mahlatsi (49) , neighbours from Nellmapius extension 22 said every time they use their bathrooms everything comes back inside the house and outside in the small drains.
Masango said Tshwane metro workers have failed to fix the problem including the contractor responsible for building their RDP houses from 2018.
Tshwane metro workers only came once to try to unblock the drain but they failed.
They promised to come back and fix the drain . . .but no one has shown up to this day.
Instead, they told the neighbours they have found the problem and it was underneath the street across and they don’t have the tools to dig up the street but promised to come back.
That was the last time they saw the metro workers.
“Every time we use our bathrooms, we must be prepared to inhale the unbearable stench of faeces for days,” said Masango.
Both their bathrooms and their yards are left flooded with faeces and bits of toilet paper.
Masango is a pensioner and she and her husband feel they are putting both their health at risk.
She said waited for 22 years to get the house. When her name appeared on the list of beneficiaries in 2018, she was so happy.
But that smile soon faded when she noticed the bathrooms malfunctioning with toilets overflowing.
Masango said she immediately complained to one contractor but he told her the bathroom was still new and that it will very soon run smoothly.
However, that turned out to be the beginning of the nightmare.
Her neighbour Martha Mahlatsi (40) said the situation gets even worse when it starts to rain.
“The drain outside floods my yard and prevent us from going outside. We are trapped inside with this unbearable smell,” said Mahlatsi.
Mahlatsi said they are staying with a three-month baby and already the health of the child is at risk.
She said they lost count of the number of complaints they made to the contractor responsible for building the houses and the Tshwane metro workers at mini-munitoria in Mamelodi West.
“We are spending a lot of money daily to buy drain cleaners which don’t even work,” said Mahlatsi.
“The problem started a long time and it is about time that they fix it. Not everyone has money, my neighbour is a pensioner.”
Both are concerned about their health since they are both have chronic diseases.
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“We were all happy to finally have our own place and as well as having new neighbours, but turned out to be a nightmare,” she said.
Both neighbours are demanding that metro workers come and fix the drain before the rainy season starts and the situation gets worse.
Tshwane metro spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo said the team investigated the matter and discovered there are more than nine houses that were and still are not connected to the sewer mainline hence the backflow these houses are experiencing.
“This requires an in-depth investigation and to engage the contractor responsible for the construction of lateral connections as to the reasons why other houses are not connected,” said Mashigo.
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