Criminal case over unfixed sinkhole in Khutsong
This sinkhole poses a huge danger, especially to the school's learners.
A former opposition party councillor opened a criminal case against the Merafong City Local Municipality this week after they allegedly paid millions for work that was never done.
“I attended a meeting at the municipality on July 23 where we were discussing issues regarding tenders for projects. During the course of the meeting, while we were discussing the fixing of the sinkholes in Sompani Road, I heard that there was another tender for which money has already been paid,” says the complainant, Happy Lefakane.
Lefakane is a former EFF councillor who is now the chairperson of the United Merafong Business Forum.
Through enquiries and gathering information, Lefakane discovered documents showing that R5m was paid to a company from Polokwane to rehabilitate the sinkhole across the road from Hlanganani Primary School in Khutsong Ext 3. The municipality paid the money on January 30 this year.
As Lefakane stays in the area of the sinkhole he immediately realised that something was wrong and when he went to double check, he saw that the sinkhole was still open.
The Herald reported on the fact that the same sinkhole was still open last week.
This sinkhole caved in during 2021 and is a huge danger, not only to the learners from the school who have to walk past it every day, but also to other children and pedestrians from the area.
According to documents in the Herald’s possession, the money was paid by the Infrastructure Investment Planning Unit (PMU) in the Office of the Municipal Manager, Dumisani Mabuza.
The municipality received the money from the Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) after it asked for urgent funds to fix the sewer system in Khutsong.
The sinkhole across from Hlanganani originally caved in as a result of a sewage leak due to problems with this system. The municipality asked for these funds in addition to R12m it was already allocated through the Mining Towns Grant.
By Monday afternoon Lefakane already received a case number.
“The police told me that the Hawks are going to take over the investigation,” he says.
The Herald confirmed this through trusted sources.
Although the newspaper asked the municipality’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Temba Fezani, about the matter on Monday, no response was received by printing time.
