Informal settlement residents bemoan sewer system flooding

Residents of the Ramotshana Informal settlement have bemoaned the lack of services from the Rustenburg local municipality in North West.

The residents say the municipality installed sewer pipes in their area twelve years ago but never built them toilets. However, the residents then decided to install toilets for themselves.

Now, their sewer pipes are blocked and the municipality is not assisting them.  A community representative, Thuli Kubheka says it seems they must fix it themselves.

“When it starts raining, it is where we start to encounter the issue of sewer spillages. In our yards, children will play in that sticky water and it is a problem that we are facing. When it is raining also it is a problem. When you seek help from the ward councillor, he will say we have built ourselves toilets. So in other words we should stay in yards without toilets and wait for the municipality to have a budget. Since 2013 and now it’s 2024 they have never built those toilets meaning if we did not build toilets ourselves, we could have been relieving ourselves in the bushes.”

Rustenburg Mayor Sheila Mabale Huma says, “Illegal tapping into the sewerage system is a very serious problem but previously we introduced a contractor in Ramotshana that is attending to the sewer spillage problem in Ramotshana. So as the municipality, we are currently addressing the issue.”