WUC turns White City into open cesspool

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer &NNASARETHA KGAMANYANE
Correspondent | Friday September 9, 2011 00:00

 

It seems the pungent waste was pumped out of two sewage drains in the area after WUC workers were seen in the low-income township on Tuesday. Sewage water is a motley mix of everything flushed down the toilet and kitchen, laundry and bathroom sinks.  WUC workers reportedly used a generator to draw out the dirty water onto the streets, pathways and ultimately into homes, transforming the neighbourhood into an open cesspool. Marooned, some people could not leave their homes while others struggled to get into their houses.

All streets were covered with a rich slippery sheet of the stinking water with globs of nastiness that saturated the entire atmosphere with flies and a choking stench. The real and present danger posed a serious public health threat, especially to little children who are wont to jump into any pool of water.

'We have really young children here,' said Robert Motsewabangwe, frustrated. 'I have locked them in the house for days now. We are very worried, especially that there is a diarrhoea outbreak in the country.'  He said that he was very angry because WUC had not consulted before flooding their neighbourhood with the watery manure. By yesterday, not a word of apology or explanation had been given to the residents.

'When we approached them, they told us there was nothing they could do about the situation,' Motsewabangwe said. 'If they had approached us, we might have understood because we know accidents happen. As it is, we don't know whether it was intentional or accidental.'

Another resident who preferred anonymity said he could not believe it when WUC pumped the sewage almost straight into his home. The source drain lies approximately five metres behind his house and the damnable pipe spewing out the stuff was placed a mere step from his yard. 'I could not believe what was happening,' the young man said. 'They literally pumped that water onto us. We were completely flooded with the sewage. They had been working here since the previous day, but we had no idea that their presence portended this monstrous assault.' In the aftermath, the residents have only the registration number of the vehicle that was at the site and a huge concern for their health. WUC has not returned to clean up the wicked mess.

Next to this man's house, a nursing mother held her baby in the midst of remains of sanitary pads, toilet paper and globs of other waste everywhere.

Mmegi's attempts to contact WUC proved fruitless as their phone rang unanswered. E-mails and text messages sent to the parastatal's Corporate Communications Manager were not acknowledged.