9 November 2026
Khayelitsha resident Zandile Ngwedu had to abandon this home in SST informal settlement because of a sinkhole. “The sinkhole developed slowly next to the door until it became difficult to get out of the shack,” she told GroundUp. Photos: Vincent Lali
Every few days, a huge sinkhole on the doorstep of Vuyiseka Khethani’s home in Wetland informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, fills with sewage.
“I fear drowning in that sinkhole,” Khethani told GroundUp.
“Hot, sunny weather aggravates the stench,” she said.
Sanele Kolisweni said a sinkhole under his home is also expanding. “I want to leave Wetland, but I have nowhere else to stay. I always fear my home will fall into the sinkhole as it is continuously widening,” he said.
GroundUp reported in June how a three-year-old girl was rescued by neighbours after she fell into a sinkhole in the settlement.
Many shacks in the community are built on top of an aged sewer line, preventing the City of Cape Town from completing repairs, mayco member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien said at the time.
The City has managed to relocate some families to Green Point, another area in Khayelitsha, as a temporary measure while repairs are underway. City officials had identified nearly 40 shacks to be removed to allow construction vehicles and workers to access the site.
However, new sinkholes continue to form, also in the neighbouring SST informal settlement.
The City’s media office said, “There have been multiple sewer collapses at different points along the same 700mm-diameter bulk sewer pipeline, which traverses several informal settlements in Khayelitsha, including SST and Wetlands.
“Some collapses have already been repaired, while further collapses have been identified during the repair and recommissioning process, requiring additional work.”
One of the many sinkholes at Wetlands informal settlement in Khayelitsha.
According to the City, repairs were to be completed in March 2026, but the contractor was granted an extension due to delays in relocating households in December 2025, and additional pipe collapses that occurred while the contractor was on site.
“Community unrest and objections” had also delayed operations but work in SST eventually started on 26 August.
“Once the pipeline was excavated and exposed, its poor condition necessitated a change in scope. It was therefore decided to replace approximately 45 metres of the pipeline to ensure a more sustainable and effective repair,” the City said.
The collapse at the Wetlands informal settlement has resulted in the entire bulk sewer line backing up. This “required the SST repair works to be suspended until the Wetlands repair can start. The Wetlands contractor is currently awaiting delivery of [polyethylene] pipes required to construct an above-ground bypass,” the City said.
It said that once “suitable, habitable land has been secured, the affected residents will be verified to ensure that all eligible households can be relocated”.
The City said it expects the outstanding relocations to be completed in the next few weeks, after meeting the provincial human settlements department.
“The revised completion dates for both projects can only be confirmed once all outstanding relocations have been finalised, and the contractors are able to proceed with the full scope of work. However, based on the current progress and anticipated timelines, it is envisaged that the works will extend into February and March 2027,” the City said.