Long grass and unkempt sidewalks don’t seem all that unusual in Krugersdorp. But, municipal workers are rarely seen cutting grass, trimming bushes and removing trash from public grounds.
And when you do see them working around town, the last thing you’d expect is to find them sleeping or socialising on the job.
The News received reports of municipal workers slacking off and decided to investigate.
At about 11.30am on Friday, 22 February, no less than 12 municipal workers in overalls were lying in the shade on the sidewalk between Viljoen Street and Key West Shopping Centre.
Two car guards at the shopping centre, Chris du Plessis and Willie Pretorius, said they saw them being dropped off there every morning at around 8am, and they got picked up again by 3pm. This, they said, has been happening on and off for over a year, and has happened four times this week.
“They wait until the grass is high enough for a lion to crawl through it unseen, then they cut it,” Willie said.
Another local also noted something similar when he came out of the centre and joined the conversation.
The municipal workers stood together when they were approached about this situation. Their response was that it’s only been two days that they were lying and sitting around, and only because they were waiting for one of their superiors to come water the ground. They said the ground was too hard because of the sun baking it every day, and they couldn’t work on it until it softened.
It should be noted that the bushes and flowers in question were very overgrown, and could be trimmed without working on the ground itself.
When asked about where their work area starts and stops, they said the grass sidewalk that they were currently lying on was not their responsibility; they only have to work on the central median which divides Viljoen Street’s lanes from one another. The sidewalk on Key West and the Krugersdorp Golf Club’s side is, thus, not their responsibility.
Key West management was contacted and they said that their grounds end at the black fence around the premises, and that the sidewalk should be public property.
The Golf Club also has a fence around the entire course, making their sidewalks public property as well.
Mogale City Local Municipality has yet to respond on the News’ queries.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
