Residents in the Khutsong West Clinic area complain that they are not getting help with the problems related to sinkholes in their area.

A huge sinkhole swallowed a house in Khutsong Ward 8 in January last year after it caved in at a site that was previously dug open by municipal contractors building a road.

Several other houses in the same area had to be demolished soon after this. The Khutsong West Clinic, located diagonally across from this sinkhole site, was also closed due to, amongst other things, concerns that dangerous ground stability problems might spread there.

People who stay in this area say that they have received little help from the Merafong City Local Municipality.

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSahQxqUs/

“We are concerned about the abandoned houses and sinkholes in our area. The overgrown grass is attracting snakes, posing a safety risk,” says one of the residents, Nandipha Rudaza.

“We are not happy. Some of the other houses now also have cracks, and bad people are staying in the abandoned houses.

The municipality has promised new houses to some of the families, but they are RDP’s that are much smaller than their previous houses,” says Kabelo Mosia.

According to the residents, some people dump rubbish inside the sinkholes, while illegal miners also sometimes try to dig for gold inside the sinkholes. They, and other criminals such as drug users who are drawn to the open houses, also steal from other yards. Some of these criminals have, for instance, stolen the tap and other items from the yard of Mosia’s neighbour while he was at work.

The concerned neighbours say that the problems will improve if the municipality rehabilitates the sinkhole sites.

The Herald contacted the municipality’s marketing and communications manager, Temba Fezani, about the problems on Monday but received no response.