Slindile May lives next to a leaking water reservoir that has turned her yard into a wetland.
A knee-deep trench has been left open in front of her gate, forcing her to access her home via her neighbour's property. May, a resident of Leyds Street in Standerton, Mpumalanga, said she is no longer sure if it is worth paying her municipal bills while her problems cannot be solved.
"The front of my house has not been dry for the past two years and it gets worse every day.
"The hole is wide with knee-deep depth, so my car could sink into it," she said.
May said there was no explanation from the municipality where the water came from or how it can be stopped.
"The municipality has not been able to explain. I suspect that it could be leaking from a reservoir."
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May said the water has added huge costs towards the maintenance of her property, saying to cut the grass that grows fast because of the wet conditions, she pays about a R1,000 a month.
The mother of two said the water flowing in front of her home was not the only problem she was faced with.
"Standerton municipality is a joke. And as a result we pay rates and taxes for no service delivery in return," she added. May said she was paying about R1,200 for rates and taxes excluding garbage collection.
The grass at a public park in front of her home has overgrown and trees have not been trimmed for over a year, she said.
"My children cannot play at the park or even inside the yard because there are insects and bugs. I even fear that a snake would come out in my yard one day because the neglect by my municipality. "
May said even the billing system on the services was inaccurate.
Another resident, Lindiwe Motha, said she was no longer paying her rates and taxes because she was not getting any service.
"The Lekwa municipality is just a bunch of criminals that need to be arrested, starting with the mayor. I'm disgusted and ashamed of their governance. Can they explain to the whole nation where all the money has been used? We are talking billions here," said angry Motha.
"It's been 30 [27] years of democracy, but we are living exactly like pigs. Standerton is an absolute disgrace for the so-called liberated people."
Thulani Kekana also said he stopped paying his rates and taxes last year in February when the waste stopped being collected.
"I'm not even willing to pay a cent till these criminals are brought to book and taken to the human rights to account for deliberately looting state funds and resources," Kekana said.
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