Children at risk

A school estate manager is pleading with the municipality to take the theft of manhole covers seriously.

He urged the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) to close open manholes as a matter of urgency and to find ways of combating the scourge of scrap metal thefts.

Mr Dawie Swanepoel, the Assumption Convent School estate manager, said children and adults are constantly dodging open manholes and damaged drains in streets such as Pandora and Mullins roads.

He is afraid that serious injuries or even death are looming.

“Thieves are stealing all manhole covers, big or small, and breaking storm water drain covers to rip out the steel. Everyone is at risk. While some of us are aware of where there are missing manhole covers in the area, others are not.

“Sometimes our pupils go on trips and return at night. They could easily fall into one of these open manholes while leaving the bus. Almost every manhole cover in the streets surrounding the school have been stolen. The pavements are in a state of disrepair,” he said.

He added that the recent heavy rains exacerbated problems in the area.

“Rubbish blocks the drains. As a result, the roads flooded. Added to this, some vagrants used the open manholes as a toilet. The smell during these occasions was horrendous. The school is clean but the outside is dreadful. Our children, staff and everyone else who makes use of these roads is at risk. Not only do people risk falling and hurting themselves, but they face health risks as well,” said Mr Swanepoel.

Water meters

Mr Swanepoel also said the theft of water meters in the area is rife. “Almost every resident in the area has been a victim of water meter theft. Criminals tried to steal a water meter from the school but our security guard stopped them. Now our security guards have to man water meters in addition to the other tasks they are responsible for. If the meters are stolen, we do have tanks to provide water to the children. However, the turnaround time from council is so bad that I do not think the water will last. I would have thought that because this is a school, council would have taken our problems seriously,” said Mr Swanepoel.

He said he tried his best to convince council to address the problems prior to contacting the EXPRESS/NEWS.

He said he asked council to provide the school with the new plastic meters, as has been done for neighbours, but he is still waiting.

“I received a reference number when I logged a call and I received an acknowledgement SMS. I requested plastic meters in February. Calling the call centre is a mission. When you call council with a complaint of a stolen water meter for example, you have to speak to people in different departments. Council’s processes are time consuming. You have to speak to one department to report a water leak, another department to report a stolen meter and a number of other departments to report missing manhole covers depending on the size of the cover. Then we have to contend with phones just ringing non-stop. Eventually, when you do get through, you may be talking to someone at the wrong department and may have to start the process again,” said Mr Swanepoel.

He said with the constant struggles he encountered with council, he wonders if the relevant departments are equipped to deal with service delivery concerns, whether they have sufficient manpower or just do not care. “Or do they wait for something bad to happen before taking concerns seriously?” he asked.

Tired of waiting, he covered one manhole just outside the school with a plastic cover and put a piece of wood across another. “However, the wood rots in time. We are paying council for a service. The municipality should be addressing the problems reported to them,” said Mr Swanepoel.

He said the SAPS should also put pressure on scrap metal dealers. “If thieves have no one to sell the metal to, these crimes will cease to exist. The Cleveland SAPS must patrol the area often and arrest metal thieves,” he said.

Constable Mpho Mashakane, the Cleveland SAPS communications officer, said scrap metal dealers are monitored by the SAPS.

Visits are also conducted on a daily basis to establish if they are complying with the rules.

“If a scrap metal dealer is not complying and does not have a licence or authority to operate, the SAPS has the power to close it down. Inspections are being conducted to check if there are any missing manhole covers or any other infrastructure,” said Const Mashakane.

Ms Lebogang Ramashala, the acting spokesperson for the EMM, said there is only one phone number to call to report a stolen water meter, a leaking water pipe or other source, missing manhole covers and missing or broken storm water covers.

The Ekurhuleni municipal services call centre number is 0860 054 3000.

When asked what the council is doing to address complaints of operators not answering calls, Ms Ramashala said, “Council is in the process of hiring more call centre agents to improve the average speed of answering calls. The call centre has also undergone a revamp.”

According to her, operators are monitored daily on a three-hour basis and the call centre introduced a performance management life dashboard.

Commenting on statements made by Mr Swanepoel about not receiving assistance after logging a call with council, Ms Ramashala said, “The call was logged on the system as no water on February 20. When the water team went there the following day, they found that there was water in the school for the reference number they were called out for. The automated reference numbers mean that your complaint will be attended to by the relevant department. A team did go to the school as the call was recorded as urgent on our system, only to find that there was water and then they closed the call. I do not know the whereabouts of Mr Swanepoel on the day the water department visited his school,” she said.

She said turnaround times to address open manholes is 24 hours. The turnaround time to address damaged storm water covers is 24 hours and a request for a plastic water meter is 48 hours.

When asked when damaged storm water drains will be attended to and when the open manholes will be covered, Ms Ramashala said calls will be logged and followed up with the service departments.

Mr Swanepoel said he was contacted by officials after the EXPRESS/NEWS sent them an enquiry.

“I have numerous calls with officials stating that the problems will be attended to. I hope they will be attended to soon,” he said.