City responds to the hole in Birch Acres
"The trench was barricaded while the city was working for safety purposes."
The City of Ekurhuleni has filled the open hole on the property of Birch Acres resident Godfrey Mkhwanazi.
This comes after Kempton Express reported on July 6 that life for Mkhwanazi had become a living hell after the hole was left open.
Mkhwanazi said that he had been fighting an uphill battle with the municipality since February after a large hole was excavated on his property.
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He further stated that in February contractors asked to do construction on his property to access a main drain that kept blocking.
“The contractors dug up the main drain and completed the project in April. When they were done, contractors only closed a portion of the hole,” he said.
Mkhwanazi added since then, no one had returned to close the hole and clean his yard.
“I don’t even know who to contact because I am always told that they will prioritise the matter,” he said.
According to Sosobala Mnguni, supervisor for MM Civils Contraction Company, they are aware of the project that took place in Birch Acres.
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“We had payment issues with Ekurhuleni, causing delays in finishing the outstanding reinstatements. We are planning to complete the outstanding work before or on July 14.
“We are going to take funds from other projects to finish this one because we are still waiting for payments from the City of Ekurhuleni.”
Last week the spokesperson for the CoE, Zweli Dlamini, said backfilling is scheduled to be finalised soon.
Dlamini added that there was constant communication with the owner of the property.
