- Severe road damage and sewage issues in Samora Machel have made streets unsafe, with potholes, blocked drains and raw sewage affecting residents and motorists.
- Frustrated residents blame the City for neglect, urging authorities to address years-long infrastructure failures.
- Ward Councillor Lungisa Somdaka cites infrastructure collapse and crime as key issues, urging the community to stop illegal dumping and protect City workers fixing the area.
Motorists and residents in Samora Machel are appealing for an immediate fixing of roads, with nearly every road riddled with potholes, thus putting their lives in danger.
In some instances, roads are covered with raw sewage and residents have opted to block them with tyres.
Following numerous complaints from the affected residents, City Vision visited the neighbourhood for a glimpse of their challenges.
Driving into the area proved challenging with nearly every street with potholes, water puddles and blocked drains. Human waste ran down some of the streets.
ALSO READ | Samora Machel residents accuse councillor of neglect amid flooding and drainage issue
Ruth First Street resident Lwando Ncapayi said streets in the neighbourhood are in shambles and very little is being done. He attributed some of the challenges to shoddy workmanship. “There are potholes and drains burst everywhere in the area. I fail to understand why our area is looking like this. There is no area that looks like Samora in the province,” said Ncapayi.
He appealed to authorities to investigate the root cause of the problem. “The City needs to close all the streets and start fixing them again. There are streets that have had sewage for years. No one is attending to them. I doubt if we still have a ward councillor, because I don’t see him,” he said.
Unathi Nana from Chris Hani Street challenged the community to rise up against the ongoing difficulties.
“This is not on. It’s been two years since sewage started flowing into the streets. It is high time that residents take to the streets and raise their grievances. I don’t want to politicise this, but I must say the City doesn’t care about us. Human waste is literally flowing in the streets,” she said.
She accused the politicians of taking poor people as their “stepladders to richness”.
Nana said they are tired of their living conditions. “Soon, the area will be in flames. We are tired of being treated like trash. The City doesn’t recognise us. I feel as if we are marginalised on purpose. We are going to stand up and say enough is enough,” said Nana.
READ MORE | Samora Machel CPF condemns attack on police officers in Messiah informal settlement
Ward 33 councillor Lungisa Somdaka cited the collapse of underground infrastructure as the cause. He also blamed some residents of discarding foreign objects in the sewer.
“The whole Samora is a mess. We have a challenge of illegal dumping and people who are dumping foreign objects in the drains which cause a blockage. That is why there’s a drain burst everywhere and potholes,” he explained.
He said it is difficult to fix the streets because they are always wet.
“Even if the City is tries to fix some of the roads, they become damaged quickly. I spoke to the community during a public meeting to educate them about the danger of illegal dumping. However, one of the major challenges which is delaying the progress in the area is crime. Sometimes the City employees get robbed of their belongings when they come to work here. And I make a plea to the community to protect them,” said Somdaka, adding that it was everyone’s business to safeguard the area.
Somdaka said City employees are on the ground to fix some of the leaking pipes on Steve Biko and Helen Joseph streets.
