This is according to Ward 23’s Clr André du Plessis, who’s raised concerns regarding the upgrade of the storm water drainage system.
According to du Plessis, the clean-up project has been ongoing for the past 10 years and part of the upgrading of the storm water drainage system, was to prevent flooding of the surrounding houses.
“It should have been done by December last year and it still hasn’t been completed,” said du Plessis.
“There are many arising issues; some of them are the exploitation of the workers, incompetence of labour and regulation issues.
“I’ve been to the site numerous times and there’s no official on site, to see if work is being done or not. The contractor provides poor service to the community, as the work should’ve been completed in December last year.
“They don’t comply with the safety rules, as there’s no safety officer on site – which poses risk to the workers,” du Plessis said.
The site is situated at Star and Mercury Street.
Residents have complained about the stench and mosquitoes coming from the water flowing into the stream, at the site.
Du Plessis said the general state of the place isn’t safe and healthy for the surrounding residents.
“Residents can’t even sit at the park due to the mosquitoes and they can’t even walk their dogs near the park. Because the place is full of rocks and stones and piled-up soil, people can’t even cross there,” he added.
According to Themba Mdawe, a Community Liaison Officer, other issues include workers not paid for overtime, getting their payslips late and no daily diary that they sign – to indicate if they were present or not.
The Advertiser spoke to the workers on site, to find out from them if the claims were true.
According to the workers who wanted to remain anonymous, they work overtime but they don’t get paid for that. They haven’t received any training for the work they’ve been employed for and there’s no basic first aid to help them, when they injure themselves on site.
Some of the workers said they haven’t signed contracts and that they get their payslips after four months.
One worker expressed her disappointment with the working conditions.
Du Plessis said he’s forwarded these claims to the Roads and Storm Water Department, which is responsible for the contractual work – but he hasn’t received any response from them.
The Advertiser is still waiting for a reply from the metro.
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