Sub-contractor claims success with hyacinth removal
Not having seen this machine or heard of the company Dredging Africa's successful hyacinth removal efforts until the press release was sent to us, the City Times contacted a manager at the company, whose name was provided on the press release, but he stated he is not allowed to speak to the media and that the claims made in the press release were overstated.
According to the Ekurhuleni metro, the company responsible for hyacinth removal (dredging of the alien invasive species) and which is contracted to do so is MT Business and Networks.
According to a press release sent to the City Times on December 6 by a public relations company on behalf of Dredging Africa, they are in collaboration with MT Business and Networks in the removal of hyacinth and, in an ‘eco-friendly way’, are alleviating the crisis facing the various water bodies across Ekuhuleni – with great success to date.
“Recently, the Presidents Park and Murray Park dams were cleared through collaboration between Dredging Africa and MT Business and Networks,” the release read.
“Once those dams were cleared, the equipment was moved to the Kleinfontein Dam, which is one of a number of dams in the greater Benoni area.”
The company added that their dredging machine, the “Happy Hippo” can be seen at local lakes dredging the alien invasive species plants.
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Not having seen this machine or heard of the company Dredging Africa’s successful hyacinth removal efforts until the press release was sent to us, the City Times contacted a manager at the company, whose name was provided on the press release, but he stated he is not allowed to speak to the media and that the claims made in the press release were overstated.
Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for the metro, said the metro is not in any contractual agreement with Dredging Africa.
“The metro did have an open tender process to provide hyacinth removal services on an as-and-when-needed basis, which was concluded in August 2017,” said Gadebe.
“The outcome of the process was the appointment of MT Business and Networks to undertake maintenance work at President Park Dam, Murray Park Dam, Middle Lake and Kleinfontein Dam.
“The metro does not get involved with third party contracts but rather monitors and communicates with appointed entities with regard to their specific contractual obligations.”
Furthermore, Gadebe said currently there is only the one 10-year-old Watermaster machine being used to maintain all water bodies across Ekurhuleni.
The City Times also made contact with the director of MT Business and Networks, Thabo Maphunye.
While he declined to speak to the media, he was quoted in the Dredging Africa press release as having said: “Taking care of the environment and fixing these problems related to the dams is an important part of what we do with our partners, like Dredging Africa.
“With the dams being clean over the festive season, people can once again go fishing, take walks and even do water sports.”
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