Fibre company states there is compliance
In this regard, wayleaves is a right of way granted by a JRA, generally in exchange for payment and typically for purposes such as the erection of telegraph wires or laying of pipes.
After numerous complaints of non-compliance by residents, Initec Civils say they are complying to the authorities with their fibre project in La Rochelle, Forest Hill, Towerby, Rosettenville, Townsview, Haddon and Kenilworth.
This after Gareth Dorrington and Dianne Kilian contacted the COURIER citing numerous transgressions on the project that started earlier this year.
They complained the standard of work is so poor that it is as if they have come into the area and ruined what was left of their existing pavements and roads.
“They started trenching in La Rochelle on February 6, and have still not completed La Rochelle. We were told by Lisa Schmidtke and David Radebe that it was due to 20 days lost by the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) subcontractors. Any reputable company would not have any excuse but to get their best teams on the job until those 20 days are caught up. They should never have progressed to Rosettenville until they were done in La Rochelle, but they did.
“A reputable contractor would do more than what is expected to make sure the work gets acknowledged by Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), instead of been told how their job should be done, for instance one block at a time and to complete one area at a time.
“Rosettenville is now in an absolute mess and we now have two suburbs that need to have rubble cleared and the pavements and roads reinstated. We were told that 70% of the reinstatement had been done, but upon inspection it wasn’t. Wayleaves have been put on hold by the JRA as their work has not been compliant with the standards of JRA,” they said.
They continued to say they had meetings with Initec Civils. However, they still have no joy with their workmanship and ethics.
There is compliance
The Southern COURIER met with David Radebe, one of the shareholders of Initec Civils, who said they have wayleaves from the JRA and it is news to him that they are on hold.
“To apply for wayleaves take months and once approved they last from six months to a year. Ours which we applied for in January, are still valid. We started applying for it in 2021.
“I have 28 years’ experience in this field and I joined Initec Civils in 2012 when it started. We’ve been putting fibre in most areas in South Africa. Yes, there would be problems here and there. However, when it comes to work and ethics we make sure we do comply.
“We work as fast as we can, followed with reinstatements. It might happen that when we work and people see rubble or trenches that need compacting and think we are careless with our work. In fact we collect all rubble to a certain weight so that we can call the truck to remove it.
“Sometimes a job that is one and a half weeks takes four weeks. This is due to different factors including the stoppages of the project by the public and sometimes the pressures put by SMME in the area.
“After every reinstatement done, the JRA is called to inspect and so far they are happy with what we are doing. Also people need to understand that we are not the only company working in the South, there are other companies. We promised to finish all the work by the end of July if all goes according to our plan,” explained Radebe.
JRA was contacted for comment in this matter. The story will be updated once the correspondence is received.
