The winter rans may have brought some relief to the drought-stricken city but for residents of Marikana it has only caused misery as the informal settlement remains flooded.
Residents have resorted to wearing gumboots and building makeshift walkways to access their homes and dodge the dirty, smelly water.
Community leaders say some people have developed rashes on their skin and there are fears that small children can drown in the deep water.
A number of residents have abandoned their homes as the situation is too unpleasant while others simply have nowhere else to go. They said the area has been flooded since the first winter rains in June and they have reported the matter to authorities but nothing has been done.
Community leader Joseph Makeleni said more than 1 000 people are forced to live in the frustrating and unbearable conditions.
Mr Makeleni said as community leaders they have relocated some residents to vacant shacks in
the area. “People can’t live like this. This area looks like a pigsty.
“This seems to be a laughing matter to the City of Cape Town. The dignity of our people has been reduced to nothing.
This is an eyesore. The only reason that propelled people to move into this area was because of a desperate need for housing. We want all the residents to be reallocated to a better area,” he said.
Mr Makeleni said they wanted the water to be removed quickly. He said that if this had happened in white areas it would had been resolved within the blink of an eye.
He accused the City of having double standards and believes that it has failed dismally to render services to its people.
Resident Veliswa Majiji said she has decided to take her two children to the Eastern Cape because of this unbearable situation.
Ms Majiji said there was water flowing inside her one-roomed shack.
She said she had to rig together pallets to build a walkway to her front door. She said they have been neglected by the City and provincial government.
She said she moved into the area in 2015 and this was the first time that she has experienced this.
“I feared for the safety of my children and decided to move them to the Eastern Cape. How does one live in a house that is always wet. We are going to die inside these shacks. You can’t even walk barefoot because there is water. These pallets are not even safe to walk on but we have no choice,” she said.
Ward councillor Mboniswa Chitha, said he was aware of the situation.
He said the main problem was that the City of Cape Town’s waste management trucks could not access the area because there were no roads. He said there was also no sewerage system in the area in which the City could dispose the water.
He said the residents had asked the City to be moved to another place so that it could clean their area. But he said the City informed them that it has no land available.
Another resident, Phumzile Dalicuba said his entire yard was flooded and his family are forced to wear safety boots whenever they leave the house.
He said the situation is frustrating and embarrassing. They are forced to stay in Marikana, said Mr Dalicuba, because they could no longer afford the monthly rent at their previous home.