RWCLM employee dies in manhole incident – Municipality denies responsibility
The municipality has denied responsibility for the death of an employee who fell into a manhole, stating that the manhole does not fall under its jurisdiction.
Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) has confirmed that one of its employees tragically died after falling into a manhole. However, the municipality has stated that the manhole does not fall under its jurisdiction.
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The incident occurred on June 13, when a municipal worker fell into an open manhole in Freda Street, Homelake. According to RWCLM spokesperson Phillip Montshiwa, it is evident that the manhole cover had been stolen. He added that several other manhole covers along the same street had also been stolen.
RWCLM cannot be held liable for assets that do not belong to the municipality. Furthermore, had the residents reported the open manhole to us, the municipality would have attempted to contact the rightful owners directly,” Montshiwa said.
The municipality has committed to taking steps to help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
“RWCLM will conduct an audit across the entire city to identify all open manholes and put a plan in place to close them. The safety of our residents is our top priority. RWCLM has already embarked on a programme to replace all steel manhole covers with concrete or non-recyclable material covers. It must be noted that this project will take some time to complete, as many covers have been stolen or vandalised,” he explained.
The municipality also issued safety advice to the community.
“We kindly ask residents to report any illegal activities, open manholes, or exposed cables that may pose a danger to the public,” Montshiwa concluded.
