Rundle calls for arrest of mayor, city manager
"The river overflowed in a matter of minutes but luckily we weren't flooded."
By Stephan Lehman
Edenvale was again thrown into panic following the heavy rainfall on October 9.
The downpour again resulted in the flooding of Edenvale and Eastleigh Spruit.
“Nothing has been done by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality to address the damaged spruit despite two court orders and the deaths of two people. The mayor and city manager should be arrested,” said Ward 19 Clr Bill Rundle.
Also read: WATCH: Edenvale flooded again
Last year’s November 9 floods claimed the lives of Caroline Sithole and her unborn child.
Her body was recovered near Dickie Fritz Avenue on November 11. Her car was found at the Sixth Avenue Bridge.
“How many more people must die before action is taken by EMM?” asked Rundle.
During the October 9 rains, Sixth Avenue Bridge was closed by Edenvale CPF patrollers as the bridge was submerged under water.
Water flooded the bridge because debris blocked the channels underneath it.
Other roads affected by the floods included Minauch Road, Seventeenth and First avenues.
Casper Badenhorst, the director of Propshaft Master is one of the three company directors who took EMM to the Johannesburg High Court. He said the spruit burst its banks near Plantation Road.
“The spruit overflowed in a matter of minutes but luckily we weren’t flooded,” said Badenhorst.
“If Edenvale again experiences floods like it did on November 9, everything will be washed away,” said Rundle.
Rundle added that since November 9 nothing had been done by EMM to repair the spruit and that in order to reduce flooding, the spruit needed to be “overhauled.”
Also read: #Floods – more thunderstorms and flooding predicted for today
“Eastleigh Spruit needs to be cleaned and repaired. It needs to be improved to handle large volumes of water. All companies along the spruit are in danger if nothing gets done,” said Rundle.
“I am not a lawyer but I have held meetings and used all the forums at my disposal. I urge businesses to keep the pressure on EMM. I can’t ask the residents to grin and bear it – that is not possible,” said Rundle.
The NEWS sent a request for comment to EMM on October 12 requesting comment by October 16 at 9.30am.
Staff from EMM’s communication department confirmed receiving the request and have sent it to the relevant department.
At the time of publication, however, no comment had been received.
