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Children also play around the spitting sewer.

“We have voted, now please resolve all our existing problems with sewerage”

 

Last Wednesday, the country was abuzz with people who streamed to voting stations, hoping for “a better life for all”.

However, in Tshikota outside Louis Trichardt, some residents still live with sewage around their houses because the municipality has been failing for years to address the serious sewerage problems in the area. On 23 January 2015, Limpopo Mirror published an article reporting on a problematic sewer that had been affecting at least seven households for over eight years by then. Last Wednesday morning, we visited Tshikota once again after receiving calls from residents who were concerned about the sewage flooding their homes regularly.

“You can see with your own eyes, the problem still exists – we live in houses that are surrounded by rivers of faeces,” said Ms Iris Magoro, whose story the paper covered a year ago. “When we report the sewerage problems to our municipality, they come and repair, but they do not solve the real problem. Even after the votes now, we expect our government to render quality services to all people, irrespective of our political affiliation whatsoever.”

In the mornings and afternoons, children can be seen playing around the faeces-matted street, even though parents and guardians warn them and order them to get indoors. “Children will always be children; they sneak out to play outdoors and we are afraid they might catch dreadful diseases from the open sewage streaming down the road,” she said.

Another affected resident, who lives a few blocks from Magoro's household, Ms Rosinah Ratshilaya, said that the sewerage manhole outside her home was blocked all the time and sent sewage back into her yard and house. “One morning I was wakened by an overpowering stench, and when I walked out of the house, I found a dam of sewage in front of my door. I could see fresh faeces and hundreds of used condoms in that dam right in my yard. It was a disturbing sight.”

Ratshilaya said that the problematic sewage had started affecting them some 12 years ago. “We have had the ANC ward councillor here and the very councillor knows about this sewage,” she said. “Then came the DA, and they too knew about the issue. All councillors had so far failed us. Even though I have lost all hope, I still went to vote this morning. We are sheep to the slaughter; let them slaughter us.”

However, Mr Norman Sebola was optimistic that there would be some changes for the better, now that people had voted in the local elections. “Our government will address all our problems because some of us had voted wisely,” he said. “All I can say to our government is this: We have voted and now we expect water and sewerage problems to be resolved.”

Several blocks away, right in the heart of Tshikota, zealous members from some political parties were playing loud struggle songs and singing along and dancing. Some were even heard saying that the gravy train of service delivery had arrived at Tshikota and that there was every reason for people of Tshikota to be happy.

Ms Rosinah Ratshilaya, seen here near an open sewer, said that even though she had lost all hope about service delivery, she had still voted.

The spitting sewer.

 

Date:12 August 2016

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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