Download PDFThe Block 6 community of Lakeside Proper in Evaton is populated by Persons with Disabilities, the elderly, and children. These groups are often the most vulnerable within communities. This includes people in wheelchairs, those using crutches, the blind, and some elderly people with disabilities. Children often play on the streets after school during weekends and holidays. And yet for the past eight months, the community has had one raw sewage spillage after another, without getting appropriate help from the municipality, with the local ward councillor Mr. Tumi Mochawe not visible anywhere.
“We have tried countless times to call the municipality, when they come, they fix the problem for a few days,” say community members. The community leaders say they have tried to communicate the severity of the sewerage outbreak, but the municipality is providing short-term solutions only.
“Each time they come and unblock a small section but then in two days it breaks out in other areas” Mr Nthato Kgasi, 48, a community leader, commented. Due to the constant foul smell from the sewage spill, some community members experience ongoing health complications. One of them is Mrs Nyakaza, an elderly lady who suffers from asthma. She says the smell from the sewage has worsened her condition.
One of the community activists living with blindness, Mr Stanley Kubheka, says he’s become reluctant to do home visits as he often walks into the sewage. A few community leaders have tried to clean up the worst of the mess. This was only a temporary measure as the sewage is still coming out at multiple access manholes. The community leaders say they want to invite the local media as a tactic to get the councillor and municipality to address the problem.
The community of Block 6 is no stranger to a lack of service delivery despite the personal challenges the residents face. In 2018 they were without water for almost six months until they staged a sit-in at the Rand Water offices. In 2022, the transformer blew, and Eskom refused to fix it. To resolve the issue, Block 6 members pooled funds to hire an independent electrician. Our government continues to neglect communities such as Block 6. And yet, with the local elections around the corner, we hope they are ready to listen when citizens use their power and speak through the ballot.
This article is an opinion piece submitted on 04 March 2025. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of Karibu! Online or Khanya College. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
