A low-cost housing development in Manenberg is plagued by sewage spills, illegal dumping, burst pipes and dodgy plumbing, say residents.

The residents of The Downs 2, who moved into their homes one year ago, say the development is fitting with inferior plumbing.

Acting mayoral committee member for human settlements Siseko Mbandezi, however, denies this, saying all plumbing must meet the minimum standards, and all the development’s houses were issued with compliance certificates.

Resident Magadien Rajap is not convinced. “If you open your tap, then a pipe shoots loose. If one of our drains is blocked, then all of our drains are blocked,” she said.

Angelique Edwards added: “I have a main drain in my yard. If I flush my toilet, then the sewage water bubbles up from that drain.”

Margaret Davids doesn’t believe the pipes line up with one another.

“I don’t think the pipes are connected. I have phoned, emailed and even went to the local housing office to complain, but nobody responded. It doesn’t mean that because we live in low-cost houses, that we must live under these conditions. We are trying to make the best out of our situation,” Ms Davids said.

Ragiema Odendaal said she had complained about the sewerage for more than a month.

“I emailed the council. They sent a contractor, but that man told me they only deal with clean water where there’s a pipe burst, not with sewerage.”

Shamiela January complained that the area had no pavements, no pedestrian crossings and no playgrounds. She said children played in the stagnant water or sewage.

“The City never told us that we are basically living on sewerage drains, because that is how it feels,” Ms January said.

Mr Mbandezi said that after occupation, all houses received a three-month maintenance period when beneficiaries of the housing development could report any defects to the contractor. Since a year had passed, the residents were now responsible for the maintenance of their homes, he said.

“After the three-month maintenance period expires, all repairs and maintenance becomes the responsibility of the owners, as was conveyed to all beneficiaries.

“Outstanding snags can only be attended to if the residents report it to the contractor’s office and the community liaison officer. Once all snags on the houses have been attended to and signed off by the contractor, the City and the Western Cape government, a final unit report is issued by the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) on completion of the units. All work is done in terms of the legally specified standards in terms of the national legislation.”

Another concern was the lack of air vents in the houses, but Mr Mbandezi said air vents were no longer a requirement of the NHBRC.

The residents also told the Athlone News that they had not received title deeds for their houses.

In response, Mr Mbandezi said: “Some residents received their title deeds, and a number of deeds are in process. Some of the sites experienced delays due to outstanding sign-offs on the civil engineering services, but steady progress is being made in resolving these issues.”

He added that the landscaping and pavements would be done in the new financial year.

Children play near an illegal dump filled with sewage.

Sewage spills like this have almost become the norm, residents say.

Some residents have resorted to digging trenches to divert sewage from their homes.

The illegal dumping along Vygekraal Road is another concern for the residents. Here Rowena Ohlson, Shamiela January and Magadien Rajap clean some of the mess.

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