This is no ‘Van der Merwe’ joke; it is the truth.
How long does it take to check whether a pipe you have repaired is still leaking?

Could it be a day?
A week?
Perhaps a month?
Six months?

Last week, it took the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality an entire day to repair a burst pipe on Verkenner Street.
First, it had to wait for the electrical department to secure the site where the excavation was taking place, and then wait for the pipe to be collected from the stores.

Residents of Dennesig were left without water from 06:00 until 17:00.
The heat caused tempers among the residents to flare.

Councillor Johann Dyason frequently has to endure critical remarks due to the water problems in Dennesig.

Vaalbank road excavation remains open after 6 months

In early July, the Observer reported that a section of a new road at the Vaalbank Water Purification Works had been dug up to repair a burst pipe.

The hole was simply left as is, and a pool of water formed inside the large excavation.

At the time, Councillor Deon van der Merwe said that a contractor had been tasked with repairing the pipe but failed to complete the work, leaving the hole open before disappearing.

Officials clash over delayed leak checks

After the story appeared on the Observer’s website, Lerato Kgomo from the municipal communications department made contact with a journalist and stated that Van der Merwe was not telling the truth.
Her advice was that one should ‘not believe councillors during election time’.

According to her, it was the municipality that had dug the hole and left it open to check whether the pipe might leak again.
It is now six months later, and it is still being checked to see if the pipe is leaking.

Van der Merwe said this proves that his information was indeed correct.

Further enquiries directed to the municipality have not been answered.
In the meantime, motorists have to drive around the hole when using the new road.

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