After nearly two years, Western Extension homeowner and business owner, Margaret Derby, is fed up with a deep excavation that has been left unattended by the City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) Department of Water and Sanitation.

The owner of Grapes Bed and Breakfast, on the corner of West Street and Prince’s Avenue, said that a portion of the pavement outside her property, as well as that of another property on the corner of Woburn Avenue, was dug up in March 2024.

“We were told that the purpose of the undertaking was due to the replacement of water pipes from Actonville,” she said.

“The pipes were laid, however, not joined outside my property and the hole was left wide open.”

In February last year, the Benoni City Times reported that Mohammed Jeewa, who lives on the corner of West Street and Woburn Avenue, suffered a similar fate, outside the pedestrian gate which leads to his property.

At the time, he said poor workmanship by the CoE has left the entrance to his home in ruins while putting the lives of other road users in danger.

He also expressed fear about the integrity of his boundary wall, which risked collapse due to the hole.

The excavation was closed shortly after the publication submitted a request for comment from the CoE’s spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini.

Staring into the hole outside her property, Derby pointed to the newly laid pipes, which are yet to be connected.

“It boggles the mind that metro can start a job like this and leave it standing for two years,” she said.

“I have logged countless complaints and, out of desperation, drove to the water depot on Cloverdene Road, in an attempt to have this resolved.

“This is shoddy workmanship and a blight on my business. The excavation is steadily causing the road to collapse and looks trashy.”

She said that it is laughable that the pavement outside Jeewa’s property was rehabilitated last year, yet no more than 150m away, a hole which forms part of the same project was passed by, without a second glance.

“I have been living here for 58 years. I am a rate-paying citizen, yet I have to beg the municipality to complete its work outside my home,” said Derby.

“This surely should not be the level of service that we should be subjected to.”

No comment was received from the CoE at the time of publication.

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