Mamelodi shack dwellers given stands a decade ago still live without services

The main road in Skierlik informal settlement, Mamelodi, is muddy and potholed. Photos: Warren Mabona

To visit Skierlik informal settlement in Mamelodi one has to negotiate muddy and near-impassable roads with potholes filled with stagnant water. When GroundUp visited in mid-July, the main road was water-logged, even though residents said the last rains fell in April.

Piles of uncollected garbage litter the settlement.

Resident Avhazwifuni Vhengani said potable water is insufficient. The City sends tankers but mostly she has to ask for water at nearby formal areas.

There are no chemical toilets. Some people have dug pit toilets; others relieve themselves in the bush.

GroundUp did not see any formal electrification. More than 100 homes near the main road use illegal connections.

City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said Skierlik was established in 2015, when the City allocated residential stands to people in Mamelodi. Together with informal settlement Kopanong, there were 2,835 stands for 8,800 households in 2023.

The City does not provide waste collection, because Skierlik “does not form part of the informal settlements that receive rudimentary services”.

Resident Sello Bilankulu fills potholes on a voluntary basis.

Sello Bilankulu said the main road has been in a poor state since 2020. Residents asked the City numerous times to either repair the road or create one parallel to it. He said they received no response.

He and a friend, Thabo Phora, try fixing the potholes by filling them with sand. They work 7am to 6pm from Mondays to Saturdays, he said.

“This road used to be very busy but it is no longer used by many people due to its bad condition. Some drivers give us coins just to thank us.”

Phora said cars often get stuck.

Desmond Baloyi said the road makes access for ambulances and emergency vehicles difficult and slows their response.

Avhazwifuni Vhengani said taxis have abandoned the road and she has to walk nearly a kilometre now in the early hours, risking being robbed.

Dzulani Ganuthi complained about the stench of uncollected garbage on the roadsides.

“Some people throw dead animals in this rubbish and the smell is unbearable,” said Ganuthi.

Mashigo said the City had appointed a contractor who graded some of the roads in Skierlik and nearby areas during May and June. “However, a number of roads could not be fixed due to the need for additional material, which was not part of the contractor’s scope of work.”

Mashigo cited budget constraints for the lack of maintenance.

Piles of uncollected garbage and informal rubbish dumps are commonplace in Skierlik.

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