A local DA Councillor speaks out after a resident complained about an alleged sinkhole in his driveway and his concerns falling on deaf ears.
The news received a response from Ward 28 Councillor Richard Lees denying knowledge of the developing sinkhole in the driveway of Martin van Ecke’s house in Rangeview after an article in the 5 December edition of the news titled Raad vee hulle aan gat af.
In response to Van Ecke’s complaints, Lees denied knowing about the alleged sinkhole and only acknowledged the complaint about the boundary wall.
“Mr Van Ecke seems confused when he states that I was made aware of a sinkhole when in fact his complaint to me was about a boundary wall that was leaning over. No sinkhole was evident at that time. The problem of the boundary wall was brought to my attention and in discussions with the water department I was told that the problem is on Van Ecke’s own property and not on the municipal side,” said Lees.
Lees further stated that the photographs taken clearly indicate that the boundary wall needs additional support or the foundations should be strengthened. Provision also should be made for draining storm water accumulating behind the wall.
Van Ecke has been in discussions with the local municipality and is waiting for a response.
“I would suggest that Van Ecke gets an engineer or qualified builder to do a proper assessment of this problem in order to deal with it. However, I will visit the site to look at the new problem of the hole and give advice or assistance in that regard.”
