ALI MPHAKI
IT is only a matter of time before a disaster strikes for the men who go down manholes daily in Soweto in search of “treasures” like earrings, bracelets and coins.
This was a stern warning from Johannesburg Water Soweto area manager Piet Pretorius, who urged the men to stop their activities immediately.
He said it was dangerous for anybody who is not a Johannesburg Water employee or technician to go down a manhole, and cautioned that disaster was in the offing for anyone entering a manhole without authorisation.
Every morning about 50 unemployed men brave pungent smells and waste to go down manholes in search of valuables which they fish out of the sewage and sell.
Using buckets to scoop out the muck, the men sift for valuables.
They have given their job the name of “quenching”, and say part of its purpose is to take out the soil that blocks sewerage pipes in Soweto and beyond.
“We are merely doing our best to eke out a living. These are hard times and we cannot just sit and hope things will change. As men we need to do something to keep the wolf away from the door,” said their leader, Pro Buthelezi.
Mandla Nxumalo said he has been unemployed for the past five years, and since he started “quenching” six months ago, his life has changed somewhat.
“I can now afford to buy food and clothing and also pay for the backroom I am renting. It is not an ideal job but at least I do not have to stand on a street corner and beg for food or money,” he explained.
But residents of Fox Lake, Dlamini, want the men to stop their activity forthwith.
Fox Lake resident Sol Mabunga said homeowners had reported the matter to the Moroka police station, but nothing had happened.
Captain Mpande Khoza, police spokesman for the Moroka cluster, said he was not aware of the problem of “quenching” but promised that it would be investigated.