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Woensdag 16 Mei 2012
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) Cover ‘taken by drug addicts’
A narrow escape from hole CHILTON MELLEM
Community members of Wesbank have expressed their outrage after a six-year-old girl fell in a manhole on the afternoon of Tuesday, 8 May. According to Lindi Jacobs, a community worker who lives down the road from where the incident happened, the manhole had been left open for more than two weeks. A neighbour who lives opposite the manhole said that Tamzon-Lee was walking with her grandmother and had just come out of school as she was still wearing her school uniform. The grandmother came to visit the neighbour and told Tamzon-Lee to go home. When her back was turned the girl fell into the manhole. The grandmother said that Tamzon-Lee had hurt herself as she fell in and was gripping onto the road with her hands to prevent falling in further. The neighbour said that Tamzon-Lee was dirty and smelt bad as the manhole was filled with waste. Tamzon-Lee’s mother was not with her during the day as she was at work but noticed that there was
Ashrall Fredericks and her daughter TamzonLee stand in front of the manhole which TamzonLee fell in last week Tuesday. They are holding the chipboard wood which residents used to cover the manhole. Photo: Chilton Mellem
a difference in her child when she came home. “I am very disappointed in what happened, my child could have died. When I came home I could see that she was sad,” said Ashrall Fredericks, Tamzon-Lee’s mother. According to Jacobs they had phoned the ward councillor about the open manhole on several occasions but had received no action
with regard to sealing this danger. She also highlighted that a piece of chipboard wood was used to cover the manhole. “When we phoned the ward councillor, she said she didn’t have a car to come out. She needs to pull up her socks,” said Jacobs. The ward councillor, Cynthia Claasen, dismissed these allegations against her by saying that no-
body informed her that the manhole was missing a cover. “When they phoned me I immediately contacted my subcouncil and they made arrangements to put a lid on the drain. The day the girl fell in was the first time that I heard about the open drain,” Claasen said. She said further that the reason for the missing manhole cover could be attributed to drug addicts
stealing the covers and selling it in order to support their addiction. The following morning after the incident City workers were seen by residents replacing the manhole cover. The City encourages residents to report missing drain and manhole covers immediately. They can phone the call centre on 0860 103 089. They will be issued with a reference number.