METRO MATTERS | Suffocated by an unholy pong

While people around the world have hunkered down to endure lockdowns aimed at curbing the transmission of Covid-19,  a family in Marikana near Chatty has been locked in filth as the flow of raw sewage continues unabated in their yard.

A frustrated Nosipho Qashane, 70, who has been living in the house for years, said the debacle — apparently caused by a blocked pipe outside the property — started in 2013.

Since then, she said, the family had to contend with a constant stench, as well as raw sewage and pigs entering her property.

Qashane said she had sent her two grandchildren — who had been living with her  —  back to their mother in Uitenhage before the national lockdown because she was terrified they might fall ill.

“I live in disgust and I don’t know what to do any more,” Qashane said.

“I’ve tried the municipality several times and no-one has ever come to assist me,” she said.

Qashane said the lockdown — which was extended on Thursday until the end of April — had made things much worse because she was now forced to spend day after day indoors contending with the awful smell.

“I’m worried about hygiene. I know soon I’m going to get sick from the sewage.

“Every day I have to fight off flies, it’s so unfair.

“The stench overwhelms the house’s normal function and health status,” Qashane said.

She said before the lockdown it was easier because she used to go to church to avoid being in the house all day.

“There are police and soldiers patrolling every day. I have to negotiate with them as to why I’m outside my place.

“It’s the smell. It is unbearable and I also have to forever chase the pigs that make the dirt worse,” she said.

She said every morning she had to wake up early to clean the drain herself.

“I forever have to buy the spraying disinfectant for the smell but now I’m running out of money.

“Whenever I see a municipal van I always have high hopes that they came for me but nothing,” she added.

Qashane’s neighbour, Shipton Piri, echoed her sentiments, saying the blocked drain affected her too.

“We have a problem with mosquitos and flies, it’s even difficult to open the windows, and when cooking you can even taste the smell of the blocked drain,”  Phiri said.

Phiri said their situation was hopeless and that the municipality had abandoned them.

The Herald sent questions to Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki who said he had escalated the problem to the relevant department.

On Thursday, April 9, Mniki confirmed that a municipal team had been dispatched to fix the pipes.

He said the pipe was almost repaired but the line was deep.

However, Qashane said that the municipal workers had not finished the job  and that she hoped that they would return soon to complete the task.