Staff reporter
While many people have been celebrating the Easter weekend across the country, many angry Ekurhuleni homeowners spent their weekend without electricity.
Mother-of-three Lindiwe Dludlu said although she was accustomed to poverty, she was tired and wanted a better life for her children.
Dludlu and other residents were trying to flush water out from their shacks due to heavy rains. The water level was as high as the base of her bed.
“I have three kids, aged 12, seven and three. We are sitting in water and they are freezing. The rain started on Saturday afternoon around 4pm and went on throughout the night. We never slept that night, we obviously couldn’t. Our bed is wet, our blankets are wet. My fridge is broken and our clothes are all wet. We are still trying to clean the damage; and to make matters worse, we haven’t had electricity since Thursday evening,” she said.
Another Mpilisweni resident, Dudu Mkhonza, also said she was tired of the dehumanising conditions they were subjected to, and they deserved better as South Africans.
“I have stayed here since 2002 (when the settlement started) and no person deserves to live like this. Not even your worst enemies.
“As you can see, the water is flowing all over. It is running down the borehole toilet, and faeces have obviously been washed into the water. Our kids are playing in the water; how can they not get sick, how can we be healthy?” Mkhonza said.
As their anger bubbled over, local residents looted a nearby foreign-owned spaza shop. Police were on standby to stop the residents from stealing from other shops.
The water on the street was almost 60cm high while garbage and a horrible stench filled the area. Both elderly people and the young walked in the puddles barefoot to get to their destinations.
Mthokozisi Mlambo, another resident, said: “The problem is, when the houses were built in 2002, people saw open land in the opposite direction and invaded because they had nowhere to go. People are angry, hungry and desperate for a solution from the government. We are going to work tomorrow, what must happen?”
Parts of Joburg south and Ekurhuleni, including Glenvista, Brackendowns, Alberton and Zandspruit, were also flooded over the weekend.
Peter Rudolph, acting executive manager of emergency management services in Ekurhuleni, said the department received a call from Mpilisweni.
“On arrival they only found pools of water accumulated on the low lanes, and we assisted by pumping the water away in the area.
“Due to the intermittent rain, they had to withdraw and monitor the area in small intervals. The accumulation of water is not life threatening, and it will subside during the course of the day,” he said.
