Every corner of Setsing in Qwaqwa "has the smell of urine and faeces while pieces of broken alcohol bottles are strewn around". Access to public toilets is available for a small fee, but it seems people are trying, by all means, to avoid paying to use these toilets.

Mandela Park, Riverside and the industrial area, as well as parts of Phuthaditjhaba, are also facing the same challenges, where illegal dumping sites have been created on every street corner.

Some streets are even being closed by the small mountains of garbage, making it difficult for motorists to drive in the streets. It is a challenge when the ambulances have to pick up a patient to take to a health facility.

‘Everyone is responsible’

Speaking to OFM, the municipal spokesperson, Thabo Kessah, pointed out that it is not only the municipality’s responsibility to ensure specified areas are kept clean. "It is also everyone's responsibility to, out of respect, keep a place clean and avoid urinating everywhere they want."

Kessah responded to concerns voiced by the Democratic Alliance about rats and mice found at businesses and homes in Kestell and Tlholong, that may cause diseases to people, particularly children.

The party warned that rodents carry diseases and spread fleas.

A local doctor warned that filthy areas have potentially toxic gases that could cause damage to the lungs of humans, and that the smell of urine could lead people, children, in particular, to suffer from asthma.

OFM News/Tumelo Khotha