Municipal workers face R10,000 extortion from gangsters to repair burst pipes and sewage overflows, leaving poor residents to suffer from ongoing water and sewage leakages. But with the city rightfully refusing to bow the knee to gang extortion, poor residents are left paying the ultimate price as poo and water leakages continue to flow through their communities. City’s Mayco Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien said the problem was a big headache keeping him awake at night.
He said the city has identified “red zones” where crime is at its absolute worst. “Red zones” are areas municipal officials avoid because they are too dangerous. “Our staff cannot carry out essential repairs in these areas without putting their lives at risk,” Badroodien said.
The crisis is playing out against the backdrop of ongoing sewage overflows and low water pressure in the metro’s informal settlements. When anIOLnews team visited Makhaza, Khayelitsha, residents were forced to wade through knee-deep rivers of what looked like raw sewage. For residents like Aphiwe Mhlungu, the situation has become unbearable.
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“We can’t open our windows, the smell is everywhere, and the kids can’t even play outside,” the 45-year-old said. Mhlungu said some days he and his little family can’t eat because the “stench is too strong”. Another resident Sibongile Dlamini said: “We call the city, but repairs take too long … it is humiliating to live like this while waiting for someone to help us.”
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