The Rep 19 February 2021

4 Tel: (045) 839-4040 / editorial: mjekulal@therep.co.za / advertising: charodinev@therep.co.za 19 February 2021 THE R E P R ES E N TAT I V E
Overflowing ditch floods homes
Houses, furniture, boundary walls left damaged
NTSIKELELO QOYO
Rains are good for dam
levels, but not for
Magxaki and Nomzamo
residents who frown at the sight
of a dark cloud looming.
On Sunday, Nomthandozo
Sopazi watched helplessly as
her stone boundary wall
collapsed after water flooded
her yard and almost submerged
her entire house.
Sopazi and her neighbours at
the Siphingo Circle in Magxaki
live in constant terror of the
flooding caused by a furrow
running next to the area, which
overflows when it rains.
The dirty water makes it
almost impossible to access the
area, flooding the street and the
houses.
The cost is an uninhabitable
home that could collapse in a
heavy storm. “My garage was
full of water. The whole back
yard was flooded — you could
not even get into the house.
“The boundary wall gave in
because there was just too much
water. I have never seen
anything like it,” said Sopazi.
“This is our life. The road is
becoming completely eroded.
“Our houses and furniture
are damaged and every year it is
the same story,” said Ayanda
Sali, another resident.
The residents said they had
asked the Chris Hani District
Municipality to excavate a
channel to redirect the running
wa t e r.
“We have been reporting this
furrow. If they could excavate a
channel this problem would
stop. It does not only affect us,
but people in New Vale as well.
“We have asked many times.
They said they would prioritise
it, but never came,” said Sali.
Meanwhile, it was no better
for Nomzamo residents who
said their houses had not been
built properly.
“I could not even sleep in
my house. It was flooding and
all I could do was try to save
some of my furniture,” said Peli
Mqeni.
Phumla Desemele said she
had to break open the base of
her doorway, which was meant
to keep water out, so that the
water could run out her house.
The frustrated residents said
almost every house in the area
got flooded. They blamed the
problem on lack of spatial
planning and a botched job that
had left them living with mops
and buckets.
“These houses have no
foundation. How can every
house completely sink in water
when it rains? Some of them
even leak.
“Clearly, this was shoddy
work and the municipality has
to assist us to fix them,” said
MESSY AFTERMATH: Siphingo Circle residents in Magxaki say they live in constant fear of
flooding. Water running from a furrow near the area has eroded the street and flows through
their homes, causing damage Picture: NTSIKELELO QOYO
Phikolomzi Jaxa. Chris Hani
District Municipality
spokesperson, Thobeka
Mqamelo, said the Magxaki
furrow was a storm
management issue and the
municipality would liaise with
the relevant authority.
“CHDM water services team
investigated the matter by
visiting the affected site.
“It was discovered that this is
a stormwater management issue
and as such the team will liaise
with the responsible local
municipality, Enoch Mgijima, to
jointly find a resolution,” said
Mqamelo.
Solar boreholes serve
about 4,000 families
ANDISA BONANI
About 4,000 households in
Bholothwa and Ntlambo
villages will benefit from a solarpowered
borehole system
constructed through a publicprivate
partnership between the
Chris Hani District Municipality
(CHDM) and a beverages
company, to alleviate water
shortages in the areas.
Coca Cola Beverages SA
(CCBSA) and The Coca-Cola
Company collaborated with the
CHDM to improve the lives of
residents from Bholothwa in
Enoch Mgijima and Ntlamba in
Engcobo municipality, where
access to water has been a
constant struggle.
CHDM spokesperson,
Thobeka Mqamelo, said the
solar-powered borehole system
consisted of a water pump that
would work through a filtration
system.
“The water will be pumped
from the filtration system into a
5,000l water storage tank which
will be placed on a 3m steel
stand.
“The tank stand and storage
facility are situated in close
proximity to the borehole to
allow for steam pumping. All
stored water will be gravity fed
to an outlet valve situated at the
base of the tank stand,” she said.
Mqamelo said the CHDM
was responsible for identifying
beneficiaries and appropriate
sites for the boreholes.
“Bholothwa and Ntlambo
villages were selected as one of
the dry areas hardest hit by
water shortages in the district, a
situation that has been further
exacerbated by the drought. Th e
project was fully funded by
CCBSA, which commissioned a
service provider as an
implementing agency.”
Both villages mainly rely on
underground water as they do
not have dams or streams.
Mqamelo said CCBSA's
contribution would assist
immensely in improving access
to water for communities in
water-scarce areas.
“Partnerships with the private
sector aimed at uplifting the
standard of living of people are
always welcomed, to realise the
true meaning of collaboration
towards a better life for all.
“The projects, which
showcases modern
technologies, bring muchneeded
relief to water-distressed
v i l l a g e s ,” she said.
NEW LOW: Komani businessman Sean Russell assists Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality to
pump water out of a trench where they are fixing a faulty cable that was reported last month
Picture: NTSIKELELO QOYO
No power month later
for preschool, churches
WATER IS LIFE: Bholothwa and Ntlambo village residents are soon to have a fully functional
solar-powered borehole system which will provide a sense of security in their constant battle
for access to water, thanks to assistance from Coca-Cola Picture: SUPPLIED
NTSIKELELO QOYO
After going more than a month
without electricity, Komanibased
Thistledown Preschool
may go yet another couple of
weeks before finally being able
to disconnect their generator.
On Tuesday, municipal
workers deployed to fix a faulty
cable affecting the school’s
power line watched idly while
local businessman Sean Russell
and his employees dug and
pumped water from a trench
because they had not brought
the equipment for the job.
The cable fault has been a
source of contention between
Thistledown, which is paying
R200 a day to keep the lights
on via a generator, and Enoch
Mgijima Local (EMLM) since
last month.
The Rep reported (“Ko m a n i
power outages persist”, January
22) about the outage affecting
Thistledown and neighbouring
churches in Ebden Street.
Having waited weeks for
assistance, Thistledown
manager Esther Dowling said
she was shocked to find that
municipal workers did not
even have tools to dig when
they finally arrived.
“I was told last Tuesday that
they would come to fix the
cable. It took 10 municipal
workers with one spade and
one pick two weeks to dig that
hole. It is not a big hole.
“I have been fighting with
them since January 8. Russell
and his workers are now here
to assist with the trench and
c a b l e ,” said Dowling.
At the site, Russell told The
Rep he was trying to help the
municipality where he could.
“I was called to help pump
the water from the trench so
that the technicians could fix a
joint. Unfortunately, when we
arrived the electricians on site
had no tools — no picks, no
spades, nothing. They cannot
even work on the site.
“They have left because
they cannot do anything. We
had to call WSSA to assist.
“We bought clamps to try
and stop the water, but the
unfortunate thing is that all
these properties from the
preschool to the churches have
not had power since January.
“We are here to assist and
capacitate the electrical
department in any way they
need help. As a community,
this is what we would like to
do. We would like to join
hands with the municipality as
much as possible to try and sort
out these scenarios,” he said.
EMLM spokesperson,
Lonwabo Kowa, said the cable
had been sourced and that
repairs would begin on
Th u r s d ay.