Makana promises action on Transit Camp sewer
Grahamstown resident Feziwe Ralo has had a problem with the sewerage system and the plumbing in her RDP home for the past 10 years.
The unemployed mother of two, who also accommodates her sister, says they are unable to use the flushing toilet because instead of the sewage going down the toilet pipe, it goes into the drain connected to the kitchen sink and ends up blocking it.
Ralo says faeces and urine leak from the blocked drain towards her Transit Camp home, leaving an unbearable stench.
“It’s difficult to live like this because I have children and they like using the faulty toilet so the smell becomes so unbearable at all times,” she said.
Ralo said back in 2011 when she tried to approach the Council-appointed Community Liaison Officer, officials said as a home owner she must fix it herself.
“They said we were given houses for free, so whatever goes wrong is for us to fix,” Ralo said.
“The mere fact that we are given houses goes to show that we don’t have money,” she said. “There is a lot that is wrong in this house but I don’t have money to fix anything, as I am unemployed."
Ralo has also stopped using the kitchen sink and bathroom basin because their pipes are connected to the single drain.
“I no longer have kitchen taps because they came off and left a hole on my wall,” she said.
That means dampness.
“I cannot paint my house because the cement falls off and the paint doesn’t last.”
Ralo’s sister, Olwethu Bunu, says they now resort to using a five-litre bucket as a toilet, emptying it in the nearby veld.
“It really becomes difficult for us, especially when we are on our periods because you become so embarrassed of continuous parading with your bucket in front of the people,” she said.
Ralo said when they go to the veld to dump the bucket’s contents, the neighbours stare.
“The neighbours on my right have a fully functioning toilet system and they sometimes look at us with wonder and it is a real embarrassment to us.”
Makana Municipality Director of Infrastructure and Technical Services, Dali Mlenzana, said the Transit Camp housing project was not implemented by the Makana Municipality but by the Department of Human Settlements based in Port Elizabeth.
He said Makana had received numerous complaints similar to this in other areas including Eluxolweni and had held a meeting with the Department of Human settlements last week to discuss them.
“There are two things that we are dealing with here: the houses that have not been built yet by the department and the houses that have defects like the one in question,” Mlenzana said.
“The Human Settlements Department appointed two contractors − Rhini Developers and Aluta Developers,” he said.
“The Aluta Developers owner has since passed away and the company closed."
Mlenzana said Human Settlements was again involved in procuring contractors to complete the development and repair defects on existing structures.