Residents of Vaalwater 2 in Senwamokgope outside Modjadjiskloof in Limpopo say raw sewage has been flowing through their streets since March 2025, with no intervention from the municipality.
The sewage has polluted the Senwamokgope River, leaving residents without a reliable water source. Rachel Lebeko says the contamination has made it impossible to use the river water for basic household needs.
“We used to use the water to drink, cook, bathe and wash clothes. Now we can’t use the water anymore. We can’t even wash our clothes because they stink after,” she says.
Lebeko says residents are now forced to buy water from households with boreholes, placing further strain on already limited finances, as most residents are unemployed.
“The water is expensive. We have to use our children’s social grant to buy water, and then be left with little money to buy food. The sewage should be fixed because we are struggling,” she argues. ”We might end up drinking water from the river, and risk getting sick because we are unemployed and don’t have money.”
Godfrey Mathonsi describes the situation as dire, particularly for children.
“Our children pass through the sewage every day. Some of them step in the raw sewage and come home with their shoes stinking. We are afraid that they will end up getting sick,” he says.
Thandi Manganye says the sewage has affected them for over a year, but “it looks like the Mopani District Municipality doesn’t care.”
“It is a huge challenge. We hope they can hear our plea and help us because we can’t walk past here freely,” she says.
Municipal response
When Health-e News sent questions to the Mopani District Municipality in early May, the then spokesperson Odas Ngobeni said they were not aware of the sewage spillage in the area. Ngobeni was appointed mayor of the Greater Tzaneen Municipality at the end of May.
“We have dispatched a team to investigate, and from the report, we will then lead work to unblock where there may be blockages,” Ngobeni told Health-e News.
Private sector must intervene
Kenny Phasha from Tsogang Water and Sanitation, an organisation focused on climate change mitigation and environmentally sensitive water and sanitation projects, attributes the situation to a lack of proper infrastructure maintenance.
“The situation poses a serious health threat and risks contaminating groundwater. Time and again, the municipality speaks about new projects during its Integrated Development Planning (IDP) meetings. It seems they don’t have town planners to guide them,” he says.
Phasha suggests that private companies operating in the area should assist affected residents and urges residents to escalate the matter to higher authorities.“The residents should also escalate the issue to Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba, who is always hands-on, and to the South African Human Rights Commission for intervention,” he says. –Health-e News
