An accident waiting to happen
De Jager said an injury to anybody as a result of the poor state of these drains could result in litigation and the municipal manager and technical director could be sued in their personal capacity as it is their responsibility to ensure that proper care and maintenance are done.
LYDENBURG – A quick survey, as evident by the photos accompanying this article, clearly show that pedestrians are at serious risk when walking in the streets of the town.
Mr Leon de Jager of AfriForum Lydenburg, said that most storm-water points do not have lids and if they have, they are partly broken or have collapsed. “It is not safe to walk the streets under these conditions, especially at night because a lot of street lights are not working and pedestrians run the risk of stepping in these gaping holes and breaking a leg or seriously injuring themselves should they fall. Upon inspection of these drains, it is clear that most of them are blocked, even to the extent that plants are starting to grow inside. Debris causing these storm water drains to be blocked is beer cans, empty plastic bottles, pieces of carton and newspaper.”
He said the municipality was to blame for the state of the drains. “The Thaba Chweu Municipality is responsible to ensure that these drains are well maintained at all times, especially considering that so many of our citizens walk along these streets, either to go to work or for recreation.
The big gaping hole on the corner of Viljoen and Voortrekker streets is of particular concern, especially as it is in full view of tourists driving through our town. Maybe it is left there by council as a reminder of the “financial hole” where all our monthly payments are disappearing into.”
De Jager said an injury to anybody as a result of the poor state of these drains could result in litigation and the municipal manager and technical director could be sued in their personal capacity as it is their responsibility to ensure that proper care and maintenance are done.
“With the raining season about to start, these blocked drains could cause flooding and damage to the property of residents, again exposing council management to be sued in their personal capacity. They should ensure that this sorry state of affairs are addressed urgently, or expect SAPS to knock on their door with a summons.”
The newspaper emailed the picture evidence of the storm water drains to TCM and asked whether anything would be done to repair the holes. By the time of going to print, TCM did not respond to the questions posted.
