Three people are arguing on a street corner in Bramfischerville, Soweto. The theme has been the same for the past decade, namely the sewage flowing down the street and around their feet.
But now they have something else to throw into the mix: the recent visit by public protector Thuli Madonsela. Community members have raised their plight with the protector after years of being ignored.
Sewage pours out of connections on every street corner.
They have time to argue during the day because they do not have jobs. Very little is going right for this community, except tap water. The water coming out is good, but going out it is really bad.
No shortage of drugs
The availability of drugs is also a constant theme. Nodding at a pair of shoes hanging from an electricity wire down the street, Walter Setati said: “That is how you know where to go.” The locals joke that it is one way to escape the smell.
But without the smell-retarding benefit of drugs, the stink of sewage clings to everything and is constantly in one’s nostrils. Pointing to a flush toilet in a yard next to a spaza shop, Setati said the problem was that “the sewerage pipes are too small” and they clog easily.
The result is sewage flowing from the lids on the sewerage connections at every street corner in his neighbourhood. The milky-white water, laced with strings of newspaper, flows into a culvert and then into the nearby wetland. A few long-legged birds peck excitedly at it.
Although the water contains some tasty treats for the birds, for the community it means bad smells and sickness. Looking at a barefoot child delicately balancing on bricks to cross one sewage stream, Paul Mkadimeng said it was “wrong” that people had to live like this.
He worries that children are getting sick from playing in the sewage. But he is not sure, because children are “always sick” in the area.
The environment in his father’s home — outside Tzaneen in Limpopo — is beautiful, in stark contrast to these surroundings. Each time he goes home, he brings back a bakkie full of fruit to sell. “It’s not like here. Here you can’t grow anything and our surroundings are ugly with the mine dumps and rubbish. You can’t be happy,” he said.
Whereas everyone else looks tired and unhappy, Gift Manasoe is smiling. “I am always smiling,” he said. He puts it down to his name and however bad his surroundings are, he tries to stay happy. It is hard work these days.
“Each time we see a new councillor, they make promises. And when it is election time, we have more promises, but nothing happens.”
The three shake their heads as a municipality truck bounces past, slowing down just enough to negotiate the eroded road.
“They don’t stop. They don’t do anything — they don’t care,” said Manasoe. At best, rubbish is collected once a month, so it ends up dumped in the wetland. This rubbish, especially the waste tyres, is helping to block the canals that normally carry water away. When it rains heavily, the water mixes with the sewage and floods the whole area.
Action to be taken
Madonsela promised that she would take strong action against the people responsible for the maladministration and “undignified” conditions. On street corners, her promise has been extended to solving the entire problem. “She will fix our problem,” said Mkadimeng. People take her seriously in Bramfischerville.
The bottom line for the three residents is that they need help and the local authority is not up to the task. Said Mkadimeng: “Anyone who can must help us fight for our rights. We have seen Madonsela, now we want to see more important people.”