A concerned resident from Universitas in Bloemfontein, Senne Bogatsu, told OFM News that student houses bring a change to the dynamic of residential areas. She says that there are now more people in an area than what was planned for from the beginning and this causes problems such as overpopulating, sewage overload, more water usage and problems with refuse. 

“There are no less than 15 student houses in my area,” says Bogatsu.

The fact that the area now becomes a residential area offering student accommodation brings more people to the area, which means more water usage. Student houses are also not managed and they are not registered as businesses. Therefore they are not catered for as businesses. There are noise and disharmony because of this. 

Meanwhile, the Mangaung Metro Municipality spokesperson, Qondile Khedama, told OFM News the Mangaung Metro is regulating student houses for the sole reason that they are overloading their bulk infrastructure. He says that they have discovered that these properties are not registered as businesses. He says there is going to be a public drive where the owners will be told that what they are doing is illegal and that there will be penalties.

This comes after OFM News previously reported the power outage in Brandwag, Bloemfontein, which lasted almost five days, was caused by damaged low voltage cables. The spokesperson of Centlec, Lele Mamatu, told OFM News the problem was due to overloading, allegedly caused by student houses and water maintenance related issues.

OFM News/Sazly Hartzenberg