Residents of the Mataffin community in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, are living in a state of fear and filth as raw sewage and stormwater regularly inundate their homes, posing severe health risks and causing significant property damage.
The crisis intensifies during rainfall, with families reporting that contaminated waste water rises to knee-level inside their houses, destroying furniture, spoiling food, and endangering both adults and children.
On the ground, the desperation is visible. One resident, whose home was featured, has been forced to build a two-line wall across his property gate in a futile attempt to block the flow. This measure has left the household inaccessible by car but has not stopped the flooding. Last week, heavy rains washed away a heap of sand he had stockpiled for further fortifications, ruining his belongings and affecting neighbouring houses.
“When you are sleeping and starting to dream, you find that you find yourself in a river that you didn’t plan,” the resident said, describing the relentless conditions.
The councillor of the City of Mbombela’s Ward 14 acknowledged the severity of the situation and outlined municipal interventions. He stated that an excavator has been deployed to open trenches to redirect water and that plans are underway to install 9mm stormwater drainage pipes.
However, the councillor also cited complicating factors, noting that Mataffin is a wetland and that some residents have built homes within natural water streams, obstructing flow and exacerbating flooding. He pledged that the area would return to normal within “the next two, three weeks,” adding that the Executive Mayor had activated disaster plans to address infrastructure issues city-wide.
Reporters observed an open sewer system behind homes, which residents say overflows during rains, directly contributing to the sewage entering their yards and houses.
While the municipality engages with the community and pursues engineering solutions, the people of Mataffin brace for the next downpour. Their homes remain vulnerable, their health at risk, and their lives disrupted by the ongoing environmental hazard.