Families continue to live in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, with little to no assistance from municipal authorities.

Johannes May has been living in a cramped two-room zinc structure with his wife, two adult children, and his grandson (8) since 2017. The family of five shares a single room to sleep in and relies on a bucket used as toilet inside their home, a grim routine that May says has become both a health and human dignity concern.

“It’s very difficult and I know it’s unhealthy but we have no choice. I have to go on the veld daily opposite the house and empty it (bucket) in the mornings or late at night,” said May.

The family’s living conditions become even more dire during the cold months. May said the zinc structure offers little protection during the harsh Steinkopf winters.

“This winter was extremely cold, and I have mentioned it several times to the ward councillor, but they don’t respond most of the time. The ward councillor, Mr Warren Britz, was at my house and the ward councillor before him. They were all here, and they have knowledge of how the conditions are in this house.”

According to May, electricity is another challenge. Despite having an Eskom pole installed in their yard, they are forced to rely on a neighbour’s supply through an improvised connection, which he describes as both unsafe and unreliable.

“We have struggled for years with councillors coming and going without any assistance. I am not the only house over here that suffers like that, but people are too afraid to talk. According to me, everything starts with the ward councillor who is in the community, sitting with the community, taking notes, making promises, then going forward with these issues.”

Britz, who is the ANC councillor in the area under the Nama-Khoi Municipality, acknowledged the severe shortcomings in service delivery and shifted the blame to the DA and FF Plus-run municipality.

“1,500 houses were supposed to be allocated for Steinkopf, but it was in vain. At the moment, there is a house that is waiting three months for a toilet bowl and system, also in vain.”

He went on to criticise the state of sanitation across multiple streets.

“The sewer in a section from Blom Street up to and including Ann Street has pit toilets that were last cleaned in 2022, and there are also houses without any toilets. All of this has been discussed in our ward committee reports. I will also bring the 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 reports so people can see that it has been reported, but nothing has been done.”

Britz also brought attention to a tragedy involving the local sewage plant, which remains unfenced. He said two children, aged ten and two, drowned in sewage last year, and yet, no action has been taken to secure the area, stating the municipality remains silent about it, and to this day, the sewer area has not been fenced off.

OFM News tried to contact the municipality, without any success.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi dg