Metro officials leave huge mess behind in Nellmapius area
“We thought that the officials would come back to cover the manhole but we never saw them again.”
Two Mamelodi families sighed in relief when Tshwane metro officials came to fix a leaking water meter outside their yards last month.
Little did they, however, suspect that their problems were only beginning.
This was as the workers left the manhole uncovered making it unsafe for children playing in Montintinyane Street at Nellmapius extension 24.
“We thought that the officials would come back to cover the manhole but we never saw them again,” said resident Thibe Choeu.
A few days later after they left, the water pipe started leaking again but this time at the bottom of the manhole.
Within hours, the manhole was filled with water.
“The water started going into our yards and flooding my and the neighbour’s yards.
Choeu also said that the manhole is so deep that it can swallow a fully grown man and “we have small children playing in the streets”.
“No safety tape was set around the manhole to alert people that there is a dangerous manhole ahead,” he said.
Resident Julia Nkwana said she reported the matter three weeks ago at the Mamelodi municipal offices.
She said officials at the municipal office promised to send utility officials to fix the pipe.
Nkwana said she later went back to report the matter again, thinking the reference number they gave her before has expired which was why they were not attending to her complaint.
She said she was told no need to report it again they have it on the system.
“We are worried about the children’s safety. We can’t be on the lookout the whole day to prevent small children from going near the manhole.”
She pleaded with Tshwane utility officials to attend to the complaint before disaster strikes.
Rekord is still awaiting comment from the metro.
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