A Durban family in KwaZulu Natal is tired of empty promises from the eThekwini municipality which has forced them to live with poop in their yard for a whole year. Zanele Phakathi from KwaMashu in the north ofDurban said that their life has been turned upside down because of the damaged sewage which the municipality has failed to fix.

SEWAGE SPILLS

Phakathi told ZiMoja that their ordeal started in January 2022 when sewage began spilling poop in their yard. "This has been a very traumatic experience because once you enter our yard, there is a smell everywhere.We have tried on numerous occasions to ask the municipality to help us with this sewage but they keep promising to come. We are suffering to the extent that in order to enjoy your food we must close all the windows and doors because the smell is unbearable," said Phakathi.

NO VISITORS

The family no longer has visitors because of the sewage spill. "Our relatives couldn't even visit us during the festive season because nobody wanted to stay in a smelly place. The municipality has turned our life upside down. We were not able to even host friends and family during the festive season because of the smell," she said. The family had to make a plan to be able to walk out of their yard without slipping and falling into the stinking water. "We have put up bricks that we walk on daily. We couldn't expect our visitors to do the same. This is so stressful and the smell is unbreable to the point that it was even hard to smell the food we  cook. It has been the most horrible year. We are unable to open windows because of the smell and the green flies. You how disgusting the green flies are? And then there are cockroaches everywhere in the yard too. We've seen it all," Phakathi added.

EMPTY PROMISES

The matter was escalated to the mayor who called the family and promised to have the problem sorted but nothing has happened. The manager responsible for fixing damaged sewage around the city also told Phakathi that their problem was too deep and he was unable to help them. She further said what's more painful is that the city has never bothered to apologise to them for the way they treated them. "It was inhumane and the way the municipal officials handled our matter was barbaric. They did not care whether our yard was full of green flies and poop or not. They just said there was nothing they could do to help us since everyone was on holiday." eThekwini municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the matter has been dealt with. "I ?m not going to entertain it anymore."