Council failed to approve a budget, to reconstruct the stormwater drainage system in Ward 92, Woodmere, which has resulted in sinkholes.
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City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the city investigated the matter, issued a report, and the report recommended the reconstruction of the entire system in the area.
Sixteen houses are affected by the sinkhole in Woodmere.
“There is no budget to undertake the project. It’s envisaged that the city will reconstruct the system in the 2023/24 financial year, provided a budget is allocated for the project,” said Dlamini.
“Human Settlements MMC Clr Mabekenyane Thamahane tabled a detailed report on the matter to the council, but it was not approved,” said Dlamini.
Questioning the city on why Woodmere was not declared a disaster zone, Dlamini said the roads and stormwater department has submitted a detailed report to council, but it is not clear when the area will be declared a disaster.
“The department’s maintenance division will frequent the area and continue to assess the damage. City planning is not involved because the problem in the area is due to a collapsed stormwater system,” said Dlamini.
“The estimated budget that is required to address the stormwater problem is about R50m, which can be carried out in three phases over three financial years,” said Dlamini.
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Ward 92 Clr Kade Guerreiro said though the mid-term budget was approved by council in its recent meeting, there are still no funds allocated for the Woodmere project.
“Should the proposal pass in council, we should start moving differently,” added Guerreiro.
