Manholes are repaired, yet other issues persist
Residents were pleasantly surprised to see the City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) staff covering manholes across town on Friday and Monday.
Lowvelder wrote an article on January 14 regarding broken and collapsing stormwater drains and missing manhole covers, leaving some manholes open to illegal dumping and posing a safety risk to passers-by.
Last year, a woman who asked not to be named, fell into one of the manholes with a cover missing, seriously injuring her leg and causing permanent damage to her thigh muscle.
The publication sent queries to CMLM regarding the manholes and drains, but had not received a response at the time of going to press last week.
ALSO READ: Homeowner confronts would-be bakkie thieves in Steiltes
Rowan Torr, a DA councillor for White River, said he came into town on Friday and was surprised to see municipal employees working to fix some of the manhole covers.
Torr said the covers had been transported from Mbombela to White River on Friday, and staff had started working to cover the open holes.
Piet Skead, head of the White River Ratepayers Association, said although he was glad to see some of the manholes covered, many issues throughout town “desperately needed to be addressed”.
ALSO READ: Licensing offices stagger applications to maintain social distancing
“One of the greatest issues is the people gathering outside the post office every day to collect benefit funds,” said Skead.
“Large crowds all huddle outside that post office for most of the day, everyday. Hardly anyone wears masks and there is no social distancing whatsoever. How can this be allowed during the pandemic?”
Skead added that another problem was the lack of ablution facilities for the hawkers on the White River roadsides.
“The other day, I saw a young mother change her baby’s nappy, throw the dirty one in an open manhole and, since she couldn’t wash her hands, went straight back to selling food to people.
ALSO READ: Concerns rise as Kwena Dam continues to drop
“This is not fair for the hawkers. They are trying their best to make a living, but they do not have a place to go to the toilet, and this is a health risk for both hawkers and the people who buy from them.”
CMLM said they would respond to media queries regarding the manholes, the hawkers or the crowds at the post office at a later date.
