Some residents of Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria say life has become unbearable in the area, following the outbreak of cholera which has resulted in the death of 15 people.
The Department of Health said there were 41 positive cases of Cholera countrywide and the National Health Department has issued a warning to all doctors to treat people who display symptoms of Cholera as Cholera patients and not wait for the test results.
The South African National Civic Organisations (SANCO) Hammanskraal Chairperson, Mahlathini Qebelo, said the deaths have caused panic in the area.
“This situation is causing panic and frustration. They won’t trust us, their leaders, or even the water tanks the government will bring. I don’t think people will believe that they are clean,” he said.
Angry residents chased the Tshwane Executive Mayor Cilliers Brink away on Monday when he visited the Jubilee District Hospital for oversight inspection.
“The Mayor shouldn’t have bothered to come here because we don’t even know him. Was he waiting for people to die first to come here,” asked Sophie Malope, a resident who said she has suffered from contaminated water-related issues since 2011.
“From 2016 it got worse when you opened the tap. Human waste comes out and we have a DA that came into power and neglected us,” she said while pointing out that if another party took over the Tshwane Municipality, maybe the situation would get better.
“We just need the right party that is going to prioritise our needs because the current leadership has failed us,” she said.
The residents who spoke to Newsnote said most people in their community were unemployed, unable to buy clean water and feel abandoned by the government.
Katlego Nobela is one of the poor people who said they have no choice but to drink the unsafe water because they can’t afford to buy water everyday.
“The water that comes out of the taps is dirty and people are getting sick because of this, they are unemployed and they don’t have any form of income so some are forced to drink this dirty water because they can’t afford clean water,” Nobela said.
Another resident from Temba in Hammanskraal, Tebogo Matsimela said it is not only water that is dirty but even the streets with dumping areas scattered in Mosaledi Primary School and Lefofa Primary School.
Matsimela said water costs her more than R400 a month and this is too much because she doesn’t earn much either. While Puleng Sambo bemoaned the fact that she relies on a Sassa grant and couldn’t afford the R10 a day she needs to buy fresh water.
Democratic Nursing Organisation in South Africa (DENOSA) Tshwane Regional Secretary Mogomotsi Seleke, said the government has neglected the residents of Hammanskraal for too long.
“The issue of Hammanskraal has been out since donkey’s years and it has never been resolved. We are asking ourselves what is the problem and the budget gets depleted without dealing with the problem so we are starting to believe this is happening because people are poor and they are helpless,” Seleke said.
Deputy Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo said they have come up with an intervention strategy to combat cholera outbreaks and establish a team of experts.
“While the investigation is continuing, there will be an immediate task of provision of water for the communities affected. He said the metro had enough capacity to roll out trucks to provide water.
