Nearly two months after the Limpopo Mirror had first contacted the Makhado Municipality about the dysfunctional sewerage system and spilling sewage in Tshikota, the municipal spokesperson, Mr Louis Bobodi, has finally acknowledged that there is a serious problem in Tshikota.

At the end of last year, the newspaper received numerous calls from concerned readers, who said that a trench had been dug from the sewerage mainline to divert the seemingly uncontrollable sewage onto the open, bushy ground which lies only about 15 metres away from the homes.

Bobodi says that there is “massive damage” to the main sewer line and the municipality’s technical team is currently working on the affected areas. “Foreign objects interfere with the sewerage system and this causes problems,” he replied on Friday (11 January). “People who are working at the site found a whole blanket inside the line this week. We advise residents to stop throwing foreign objects in the sewerage."

As a result of the trench of odorous sewage, residents could hardly eat any food in their own houses as green, dizzy flies come to rest on their plates of food. “It kills one’s appetite,” says Elisa Ndou (29).

Ndou is mother to six-year-old Caron, a Grade1 pupil at Masedi Combined School. She claims her daughter was affected with an unknown skin disease after playing around the spilling sewage in May last year. The excruciating sores leave black marks when they heal.

“We took Caron to the Memorial Hospital last year, but it didn't help much,” Ndou tells of her ordeal. “The nurse advised us to buy soap for Caron's use and it only helped to minimise the pain.” Caron looked beautiful in her black and white school uniform during our interview, but soon she winced in pain and requested her mother to scratch the dry sores on her back. “Ndi khou thothoniwa (My skin is aching),” she complained.

According to Ndou, the municipality is to blame for her daughter's continued ordeal. “Former ward councillor Ntshauba paid us a visit sometime last year (2011) and advised us to take Caron to hospital because he saw the seriousness of my daughter's sickness,” says Ndou. “If the municipality is failing to fix this sewerage system, they must find us another place to stay.”

In the case of Ndou, Bobodi says she should visit the municipality and present her daughter’s case. “We are keen to consider her case for investigation,” he says.

Japie Bell (46) adds that he does not understand why the municipality fails to attend to the people who live in Tshikota but continues bombarding them with monthly bills. “There is no water here, and faeces runs down most of our streets,” he complains in a pained voice.

The sewerage matter continues to pose a health hazard to residents who cannot walk three steps from their houses' front doors without landing in a pool of reeking faeces and used condoms. “We eat faeces here because of the municipality's laxity,” says Bell.

Cllr Abraham du Plooy (Ward 21) admitted that the leaking sewerage poses a very serious problem. “I saw the trench with my own eyes,” said Cllr Du Plooy. “People stay with faecal matter inside houses and homes because of a lack of water in the town. Everybody is promising the whole world that the Nandoni Dam will soon redeem the situation.”

Du Plooy pointed out that a new sewerage system needs to be installed in most parts of the town. “I spoke with the new municipal manager, Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali, and he agrees that there's a problem in Tshikota and that there's no budget to address the lack of water and leaking sewage at this stage,” added Du Plooy.