Residents of Alexandra in Johannesburg will breathe a sigh of relief after the City of Joburg set aside over R2 million to get rid of amaroto in their township. The city has also trained formerly unemployed young people in the township to deal with the rat infestation.

GETTING RID OF THOUSANDS OF RATS

The City of Johannesburg recently launched a programme called Integrated Rodent Control Project which has seen 5 000 killed in Alex. The city has vowed to tackle the issue and has made over R2 million available for pest control. In the past, residents including infants were attacked by rats, with one losing fingers and a part of her nose in 2014. In a statement, the city said they are focusing their attention on Alexandra because the area is the most affected. Liziwe Ntshinga-Makoro, the Regional Director of Region E, says the project aims to rid the entire Alex community of the prevalent rodent infestation. She added that the campaign aims to educate and instil environmental consciousness within the residents, urging them to accept responsibility for the cleanliness of their community. "Our comprehensive rodent control strategy encompasses both the physical and psychological risks posed by rat infestations," Ntshinga-Makoro said.

TRAINING PEST CONTROLLERS

The city has also trained formerly unemployed youth in Alex to help rid Alex of rats. The 36 young men and women will be trapping the rats daily at 6 pm in hotspot areas. To attract the rats, the pest controllers will use vanilla essence due to its strong smell. The campaign has set a target of exterminating over 12,000 rodents by the end of December. "Rodents have become a challenge in places such as informal settlements, overcrowded and hijacked buildings in the inner city, and households that are not managing their domestic waste and litter properly. What we seek to do is to manage their population so they do not pose the threat of spreading diseases," the statement said. "Residents can also assist by getting rid of unwanted stuff in their yards, keeping them free of running water, and making use of dustbins to dispose of their domestic waste," the city said in a statement. 

RESIDENTS HAVE NO CONTROL OVER AMAGUNDWANE

A resident who refused to be named said she lives in a shack in Stjwetla Informal Settlement with her three children and she feels like rodents have become part of her family. "They are not normal, you can scream and jump but they’ll just stare at you. Whether it’s day or night they are there. They are heavy and I can feel them when they crawl on my body when I’m sleeping. Even if I jump and try to chase they’ll just slowly crawl away," she said. She added that the rodents leave holes in their clothes, and food and mess with their appliances. "It’s frustrating because once there’s a hole in the mealie meal or rice I have to throw it away. I can’t feed my children that food because it could be poisonous, these rodents are filthy and also crawl in sewer water, we really need help to get rid of them,"