Two families scared of using their bathrooms

Two families in Nellmapius are too afraid to use their bathrooms because of the blocked drain outside their homes.

Alina Maboe (63) and Catherine Nkwane (52) are neighbours on Caledon Street from Nellmapius ext. 22.

Every time they use their bathrooms, the blocked drains overflow and the effluent even flows into their houses sometimes.

The neighbours are then forced to cope with the unpleasant stench of faeces and bits of toilet paper floating inside and outside the houses.

Maboe said they have reported the matter to Tshwane metro municipal office in Mamelodi but they have failed to fix the problem.

They claimed that the metro told them the contractor responsible for building their RDP houses is to be blamed for the blocked drains.

“Metro workers came once and said the building contractor made a mess and that it’s their responsibility,” she said.

Maboe said when they moved in three years ago, they thought they are now going to live peacefully in their new houses and they didn’t know they will be forced to leave their doors locked at all times because their yard was flooded with faeces.

“The smell is unbearable.

“A family down the street also had the same problem. Eventually, they hired a private plumber to fix their blocked drain.”

Unemployed Catherine Nkwane (52), who is taking care of her five-year-old grandchild, said the blocked drain was making their lives very difficult.

She said the child has started breathing heavily because of the stench and was taken to a hospital on a couple of occasions.

“Every time we use our bathrooms, we must be prepared to inhale the unbearable stench of faeces for years since we moved into the houses in 2018,” said Nkwane.

“We waited for RDP houses for more than 20 years – only to be given an RDP house that looked beautiful from the outside but with a drain problem.”

Maboe said she and her husband feel they are putting both their health at risk.

“We are trapped inside the houses with this unbearable smell and the situation gets worse when it rains.

“We spent a lot of money on drain cleaner, which didn’t even work,” she said.

She added they recently poured rubble to cover the front of the house to avoid walking on top of brick stones.

“We were all happy to finally have our own place as well as having new neighbours, but it turned out to be a nightmare,” she said.

Both neighbours demanded that the metro and contractor take full responsibility and fix the blocked drain before the situation gets worse.

Tshwane metro spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo said the municipality was aware of the frequent sewer blockages in the area and its sanitation teams attend to the complaints as-and-when they are reported.

“Currently, we have no sewer blockage reported at the said addresses. The last blockage reported was in 2021 and it was resolved.”

Mashigo said they will urgently send a sanitation team to investigate and resolve any sewer problems.

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