The owner of the house that was partially swallowed by a sinkhole on 5 March says he is ready to take the Merafong City Local Municipality to court over the matter.
Mr Papi Magwasa, the owner of Erf 532 in Mkhondo Street says he is furious with the Merafong City Municipality, which is now blaming him for the disaster.
According to a press release issued by the municipality last week, the building in his yard that fell into the sinkhole is illegal as the building plans for it were never submitted.
The municipality also claimed that the extremely high volume of water used on his property ‘…clearly indicates a leak in the water services on his property. This could be the cause of Z or at least a contributing factor to the sinkhole…’.
During the past week, however, Magwasa insisted that he was so sure that the sinkhole was not his fault that he and his family are taking the matter to court. Magwasa and his lawyer, Mr Makgaje Motsumi, showed the Herald building plans for the structures on the property, on which a stamp of approval was given by the former Khutsong Town Council on 28 June 1991.
They also indicated that there was no sign of any leak at his water meter, which is situated on the sidewalk outside his property.
‘We complained to the municipality about the water leak for several months and they did nothing. Now, they want to blame me for this.
It is not right what they are doing to us,’ an upset Magwasa told the Herald.
Motsumi said he was also considering asking the organisation, Lawyers for Human Rights, to assist with the matter.
