About fifty households in Musina Nancefield are living on a time bomb, because their houses are slowly sinking into the ground.

The problem started shortly after the 2000 floods. Streams of dirty water have developed in other households whereas there are continuous springs of water even inside some of the houses, which causes damage to equipment like furniture and doors. Tadpoles can be seen swimming joyously in the pools of the tributaries right in the yards, while enormous black mosquitoes flew harmoniously around the tributaries. It is also impossible to visit the outside toilets as they are also flooded by the stinking waters from the muddy ground. The problem is so serious that some families are considering relocating, because they are afraid that their houses would fall at anytime.

"We are no longer safe here. It is just a miracle that we find ourselves alive each morning. We don’t know what will happen next because we are certainly living with death. The situation becomes more unbearable when it rains, because the water is uncontrollable. We barely have peaceful sleep because we are uncertain about our safety," said one of the affected citizens, Ms Julia Chauke (36).

Chauke said she did not suspect anything when it took some few days for the water to disappear after the 2000 floods. "We thought that the ground was still saturated with water for a short time but we became more suspicious when the problem persisted. Our yards are full of water and it is almost impossible to move around. It is only a matter of time before we find ourselves below the debris of these houses one morning." She added that the concerned citizens raised their problems with the Musina Municipality in 2001. "Officials from the municipality came and inspected our situation and promised to do something about it. We even filled in some forms in 2001 but nothing has progressed since then. We spoke to them through different delegations, but we have been kept waiting since then. Maybe they would do something after one of us dies. It is now the sixth year since we reported this matter to them and there is no progress."

Chauke said the communities have to keep watchful eyes on their children not to play in the dirty waters. "There is no time to stay away from home because we don’t know what will happen to our children. We are definitely living in hell here and the situation gets worse on a daily basis. We only survive through miracles because more water seems to be coming out on a daily basis. Tadpoles and mosquitoes have found homes in our yards, which poses a serious threat to our health."

The Mayor of Musina Municipality, Cllr Caroline Mahasela says they are aware of the problem. "We are very concerned about the situation. I have personally visited the families and observed what the families are going through. We are viewing their problems in a very serious light and we have acquired the land to which the afected families would be relocated. Each of the families would be allocated a house, because the houses in which they are staying now, are not fit for human occupation."