Open manholes in Ekurhuleni put many at risk

Residents of Ekurhuleni fear for their safety with open manholes becoming a growing concern in the city.

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The GCN spoke to a local business owner, Charity Gutu, based at the corner of Main Road and Comet Street in Fishers’ Hill about her concerns with an open manhole near her business.

“The manhole is not safe at all. This manhole has been open for over a year.

“I think the cover was stolen for scrap metal. At night, I often see people even sleeping in the manhole because it’s not that deep and the homeless people use it as a form of shelter,” said Gutu.

The business owner also said it is easy for someone to fall into the manhole and children are at risk if they play near open manholes.

“Sometimes people go out at night and when they are intoxicated they can fall into the open manhole.”

Spokesperson for the City of Ekurhuleni Zweli Dlamini said vandalism of manholes is an increasing problem.

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“Budget has been put in place to mitigate the issue of metal covers being stolen.

“The city is aware of the open manholes in the city. This is due to the high prevalence of vandalism and theft and we (the city) are exploring alternative materials to close the open manholes. Most of the infrastructure is lost to the scrap metal industry,” said Dlamini.

Dlamini said about R3m for the 2022/23 financial year has been budgeted to replace manhole covers in Ekurhuleni.

“The city cannot at the moment commit to a timeframe, since the closing of manholes is a moving target.

“Many manhole covers were replaced in the past three years but since 2020 the theft of manhole covers multiplied exponentially,” said Dlamini.