16 Maart 2017
Carletonville Herald
www.carletonvilleherald.com
15
Unaddressed leaks continue to worry residents Adele Louw Khutsong residents have expressed their concern about various leaks over the past weeks. On Monday, a concerned Khutsong resident, Mr Bright Ngqaqu, pointed out a leaking manhole in the middle of the road in front of the AFM church in Khutsong Ext. 2. A large amount of sewage was streaming from it and flowing down the road before disappearing into a storm water drainage ditch. ‘I was in church yesterday and it stank so much that you could hardly concentrate,’ he told the Herald. A number of residents staying near the leaking manhole, including several women with small children, also complained that it was a health risk for them and their children. ‘This manhole has been leaking for about two months,’ one of the residents said. In the meantime, residents of Batswaneng are very worried about water leaking from the Chiawelo water tower. Even though it has already been affec-
No activity at Khutsong’s business hive Kagiso Segone The community members of Khutsong are asking questions about the Khutsong business centre that has been unoccupied since 2013. The Herald took their enquiries to the municipality. According to the spokesperson, the centre used to be the old municipal beer hall and was converted into a business hive through a donation by Harmony Gold. The project was executed by the mine. ‘The contractors left many of the specifications unfinished, however, and produced a development that can only be described as poor workmanship. ‘The business centre was then occupied but it became unbearable for the tenants, who withdrew from their rental agreements with the full understanding of the municipality. ‘The Gauteng Province then allocated an amount of R 9.2 million to renovate the building as part of the MEC’s outreach. This was insufficient, however, and an additional amount of around R 2 million is still needed to complete the project. This is for additions that were not part of the original scope of work. ‘Since the work is incomplete, the municipal building control cannot issue an occupancy certificate and the building cannot be utilised for any purpose before completion. ‘The municipality is aware of the cable theft and the water meter that was stolen at the facility. The matter of security could not be addressed because of the current financial situation. We, therefore, call upon the community to assist in the safekeeping of municipal facilities, infrastructure and installations. At the end of the day, the community will be without facilities because of the damage caused since there is no money available to rebuild, renovate or build new facilities.’
The renovated building still needs ad ditions that were beyond the original scope of work.
ted by a sinkhole, residents fear that the new leaks will lead to even more ground instability. The Herald asked the Merafong City Local Municipality about the problems. ‘The matter was not reported previously, according to the call and contact centre records for the past three months. However, the matter has been reported under reference CC3/14/03/17/06 and has been investigated. It appears that the main sewerage pipe is blocked, causing the sewage to push back to this area. Appropriate action will be taken,’ a municipal spokesperson replied in response to the sewage leak. Regarding the water leak at Batswaneng, he said the telemetry system that was installed had been stolen again. ‘This impacts on the municipality’s ability to control the water level. Currently, the process is manually operated and spills will continue to occur until the telemetry system can be reinstalled,’ he replied.
Mr Bright Ngqaqu at the sewage leak in front of the church.
No money to cut grass in open veld Adele Louw The municipality says its financial woes do not allow it to cut the long grass that is providing cover for criminals in Khutsong. Several residents of Skopas complained to the Herald about the extremely long grass in the open veld next to house No. 5374 on Monday. ‘It is so long that the “nyaope boys” hide there all the time. They inject themselves in the bushes and attack residents from there,’ one of the upset residents, Mr Bright Ngqaqu, told the Herald. According to Ngqaqu and other residents, such as Mr Gift Lehloo, people living g in the area are now too scared to walk around at night or to send their children to even the nearest shop. ‘We are really begging the municipality to cut the grass,’ Nqaqu said while standing next to some bushes that are about six feet high. On Tuesday, however, the Merafong City Local Municipality’s spokesman had bad news for them. ‘Due to current financial constraints the municipality does not cut the grass in open areas,’ he said. He referred the Herald back to a recent press release on the issue of grass cutting.
It stated, among other things, that the financial constraints had prevented the municipality from renewing the previous contracts that assisted in the cutting of the grass in certain areas.The municipality currently has only a handful of cutting teams to service all the areas.The municipality is only going to cut the grass along the main roads and, specifically, on the centre islands of the main roads as well as non-residential pavements and public open spaces like parks.
Concerned community member Mr Gift Lehloo next to some of the tall grass and bushes that are worrying residents. Insert: An elderly woman walking through a part of the veld where the grass is not quite as long..