Illegal mining in the vicinity of the Plastic City informal settlement is the leading cause of the road collapse along Main Reef Road.
This is according to DA councillor for ward 97 in Brakpan, Brandon Pretorius, and follows the appearance of a sinkhole on the side of the road (travelling towards Benoni).
“The Democratic Alliance in Ekurhuleni has over the past year constantly warned the municipality about increased illegal mining activities in Plastic City,” he said.
“The mayor of Ekurhuleni, Clr Mzwandile Masina, and fellow MMCs, including the MMC allocated to Brakpan, have visited the settlement, yet nothing has been done to prevent the illegal activities.”
Read: Road collapse fears deepen
Pretorius stated the hole posed a serious threat to motorists and could have led to serious injuries or fatalities.
In an email to the Herald, a concerned resident bemoaned the situation.
“This is starting to cause traffic jams as we have to slow down or come to a complete standstill when there is a large vehicle approaching from the other side,” she wrote.
“This road is used daily by thousands of cars.
“Now the question is, does this road have to collapse completely before anything is done?
“Surely, as this is one of the main roads in and out of Brakpan it needs to be attended to immediately?”
Pretorius told the Herald the potholes and road failure along Main Reef Road are nothing new and seem to be the norm.
“It came as no surprise when this large pothole turned out to be a sinkhole,” he said.
“The hole has been repaired, but the question on everyone’s lips is when will the entire road collapse?”
The councillor explained that illegal mining activities in the area have been confirmed to be the direct cause of the road failure.
“At numerous locations along the road one can see the tunnels that have been dug to extract gold,” said Pretorius.
“Some tunnels stretch as far as the width of the road and this is hazardous as the road has previously collapsed.
“The roads department has confirmed that they have now appointed a consultant to look at the entire road to investigate the total damage caused by the mining.”
Also read: Hired excavator used for illegal mining
Pretorius, however, believes this will be fruitless if the municipality does not start at the root cause.
“The roads department will be kept under pressure if the other departments do not start doing their work,” he said, citing the department of human settlements and the EMPD as two key departments.
“The occupants of the settlement need to be moved from the dolomitic area, and the EMPD, together with the SAPS, must be more hands-on when it comes to preventing illegal activities in the settlement, including illegal mining.”
“As the DA we will apply as much pressure as possible to ensure the municipality is held accountable.”
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