Wesselton residents demand action and accountability
Residents of Wesselton raise alarm over stalled roadworks, sewage spills, and poor safety measures near homes and schools.
WESSELTON – Residents of Magwaza Street in Ext 2 are growing increasingly frustrated over stalled roadworks and unsafe driving conditions.
Although a contractor was appointed to carry out road repairs in the area, very little visible progress has been made. Where work has begun, residents point to deep, unmarked trenches, the absence of proper signage or barriers, and vehicles being damaged due to a lack of warnings.
“The people staying in the extension pay for their cars, too, and should be treated equally to those in Ermelo,” a resident
who brought the matter to Highvelder’s attention, said.
Many locals claim to have submitted complaints, but they have yet to receive feedback.
They are also questioning whether the appointed contractor is being held to any kind of standard, with some asking how the project was awarded in the first place.
Further along, when you turn off into Mabuza Street, construction vehicles are working to repair a collapsed bridge, but the area is flooded with sewage from an overflowing manhole located near the top of the hill.
This untreated sewage runs downhill directly to the construction zone and, worse still, the leaking manhole is located right across the road from the Sikhulangolwazi Preschool, raising serious health concerns for the children there.
Despite these conditions, the municipality has yet to respond to repeated concerns about both the roadworks and the sewage leak.
Residents say they feel neglected, and are calling for accountability, from both the contractor and the municipal officials responsible for oversight.
Msukaligwa Local Municipality has provided an update regarding the stalled road repairs and sewage overflow affecting Magwaza Street and nearby areas in Wesselton.
In a detailed response, the municipal spokesperson, Mandla Zwane, outlined the current status of two major projects in the area, the reconstruction of the Mabuza access bridge near Mthonjeni Clinic and the rehabilitation of Mabilisa, Magwaza and Mabuza streets.
Read the complete article in Highvelder.
