“We can’t even eat anymore because of the stench,” says Mr Thomas Dlamini, the person in charge of the Salvation Army's office in Bauhinia Street, Makhado (Louis Trichardt).

The stench comes from a permanent stream of sewage water which has already created a patch of lush vegetation on the pavement just outside his premises.

“It will affect our health. For the past three months, my neighbours and I have repeatedly reported this serious sewage leakage, with stinking water streaming from the pavement. Once I was promised that they were coming to repair and stop it. They never did. Several other efforts just got lost in an endless and expensive sequence of fruitless call transfers. One dedicated line for fault reports should be available at the municipality. They are supposed to help us,” said the desperate Mr Dlamini.

Lower down in Bauhinia Street there are several signs of other recent major spills. Early this week, residents at one house were trying to mop up the stinking mess by hosing the sewage off their driveway.