A high-level delegation, comprising of politicians and officials from both the Tshwane Council and the Gauteng Government, visited a number of sinkhole sites in the Centurion area, including visiting just one site in Laudium, this past Monday (May 12).
The delegation led by Gauteng MEC for CoGTA, Jacob Mamabolo (ANC), included local PR Cllr Prajay Ramjee (ActionSA) and members from the community. At the visit of the 2nd Ave sinkhole site, in Laudium, the MEC said that repairing the 2nd Ave sinkhole would cost about R30m, but indicated that the relevant Gauteng Dept did not have funds for the repairs, saying that he (MEC) plans to ask for funds from the ‘National Emergency Funds’ which is at national level. There are presently around 65 sinkholes in the Tshwane area that need repairs, with both the ANC led Tshwane Council and ANC led Gauteng Government indicating that they do not have the money to repair all these sinkholes.
The Laudium Sun spoke to Cllr Prajay at the 2nd Ave site, who said, “I am glad that some progress seems to be made with this sinkhole, as it’s affecting both businesses & residents using the street. I hope that all the sinkholes in the area will also be attended to as a matter of urgency. However, as the Laudium area is prone to sinkholes, I believe the focus should at the same time be on being pro-active, by replacing the aging water pipes to prevent further sinkholes, as leaking underground water pipes contribute significantly to the formation of sinkholes.”
Prajay added, “The tour with the MEC of CoGTA ended in Laudium as the final part of our ‘Sinkhole Tour’ in Centurion. We started off at the corner of John Vorster Drive and Marco Polo Ave, where a sinkhole is tainting the aesthetics of an otherwise affluent area. Three other high priority sinkholes were visited in Lyttleton, one being on Clifton Avenue, hindering emergency services to Unitas Hospital. This intervention from the MEC comes after MMC Kholofelo (ActionSA) has been emphasising the issue of the sinkholes in Centurion on various media platforms. MEC Mamabolo saw MMC Kholofelo speaking about the latest sinkhole on TV and decided to do something about it. This accentuates the vital role that media plays in putting pressure on politicians to speed up service delivery. Apart from the challenges of funding to repair the sinkholes, we will need to proactively stop sinkholes from forming. This would entail early leak detection and repairing leaks within 1 hour of reporting. The city would also need to look to renewing the aging infrastructure with a more suitable HDPE pipe and do so quickly. It was also found that residents are flushing items that don’t belong in the sewer system, such as diapers. In one instance, a blanket was found to be blocking the sewer system. I appeal to all residents to be considerate and not to throw just any waste matter into the drainage system as it could have dire consequences.”
