Mdantsane neighbours at wits’ end over monster leak

Residents take desperate measures, saying complaints to municipality ignored

An unemployed Mdantsane man has had to leave his flooded shack, apparently due to a water pipe that was left leaking by Buffalo City Metro workers in March.

A neighbour dug a trench around the house to divert the water, but to no avail.

The neighbours, from NU2, say the trouble began in March when BCM workers dug a trench with a TLB (transport load builder) to access the pipes and then later refilled the trench.

Soon afterwards, their yards started to get damp.

Wanda Yenge’s shack, which is next to the dug-up site, has been completely flooded. Water goes up to his ankles on one side of the shack.

“It has not rained here in a while. It only drizzled on Sunday, but my shack is in a pool of water. The yards are damp.

“I would get flu after flu when I still slept here, because everything is wet. I decided to move to the main RDP house in about June, but even so I worry about my shack. I built it when I was still working.

“We’ve reported it many times to the metro but they are doing nothing about it.

“I always see them going up and down our area in their branded cars,” he said.

The shack wall is starting to cave in on one side.

“My concern is that my furniture is getting ruined now.

“I’m watching a place I’ve called home since 2005 lie in ruin now.

“The municipality must fix its infrastructure because this water is coming from underground. It’s clean water. Before they dug next to that pipe we had no problems.

“One municipal official told us he had a runny stomach and could not fix what’s happening,” he said.

Thembani Maponono, whose house is about 30m from where the pipeline is, said he has been to the BCM offices in Mdantsane six times.

Maponono, a general worker at a car dealership company in Beacon Bay, lives with his wife, two children and grandchild.

“Every time I go there they take my details down on a piece of paper and say they will come, but they never do.

“It’s like the moment I turn away they forget about my grievance.

“I’m sent from pillar to post every time,” Maponono said.

He fears his RDP house could collapse in the event of strong wind.

“The floor is always damp. There’s always water in the trench. Our lives are at risk.

“My granddaughter can’t play outside as she did before.

“We don ’ t even know why and what they dug there, but it has left us miserable. This has demoralised us.

“We get sick often now and it was worse in winter.

“I’ve lost hope in the municipality fixing this. They don’t care about us. I reached out to the media because I think if they see it there they will act.”

"The leakage is currently being investigated and repairs will be completed tomorrow once the source of leakage has been established," said BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya.