Manenberg residents say they’ve been sukkeling with the City of Cape Town to fix a sewage drain that’s been overflowing into their homes for two months.
When the Daily Voice pulled up in Thames Avenue yesterday, a City vehicle stood opposite the house, but workers said they were not there for the leak.
The worst affected is 76-year-old wheelchair-bound pensioner Gadija Nel, who burst into tears when speaking about her ordeal.
“I have been trying to do everything. This dirty water has been flooding my whole house full of sh!t,” she says.
“We cannot even enter the house, the stench is unbearable.
“I have not eaten in days. I had to sleep in a chair for three days or sit outside in the cold.
“We have been struggling to get the council to come out, but they never come,” she says.
The old woman, who suffers from high blood pressure and recently had knee replacement surgery, says maggots from the vrot water are also becoming a problem.
“It’s not just flooding in my house, but my neighbours too. Maggots are coming out of my tap because of this drain.
“I had to send my grandchildren away. We cannot cook, what must I do?”
OVERFLOW: Sh!t water
Another resident, who asked not to be named, says the City has been ignoring their cries for help.
“We have gone to the Manenberg and Heideveld council offices and all they keep on telling us is that we have to wait.
“We have been waiting for two months. I’ve contacted the City via WhatsApp, they say someone is going to come in 24 hours.
“We get reference numbers, but no one ever comes,” the angry resident says.
Acting Mayoral
Committee Member for Human Settlements, Felicity Purchase, says a staff member of the Public Housing
Department had gone to the street yesterday afternoon to sort out the matter.
A resident confirmed: “After the [ Daily] Voice was here, they came to fix the drain in the next five minutes.”