THE recent heavy downpour did not only cause damage to homes, but businesses were also affected.
Jay Moonsamy, who owns a company in Crompton Street, said that last year, the floods caused them over R2m worth of damage.
What’s worse, the insurance company refused to cover the cost as they said the problem was caused by the water running over the bridge.
“All the basement units in the complex close to the river were flooded.”
Also read: Recent storm leaves R28m trail of destruction in eThekwini
Moonsamy believes the damage would have been reduced if the municipality had cleared debris and plastic that accumulated under the bridge.
“Illegal dumping also added to this. The lack of attention from the municipality is just shocking. The huge gum trees are also impending the flow of water.”
According to Moonsamy, some companies were severely damaged again by the recent rain.
When the Highway Mail went to inspect, they found that the banks of these business parks are being eroded.
“If the municipality does not address this problem with the bridge, many of these business premises will close down, resulting in further job losses,” he added.
Another business owner in Josiah Gumede Road, Hennie Sadler, says the other critical problem is the poor and inadequate stormwater design of the Go! Durban road which is harming all businesses at a lower level of the structure.
“As business owners, this was discussed with the contractors and the municipality but was never addressed, and there is clear evidence of this severely affecting businesses along this road.
“The tunnels along the river are blocked, and the water can’t flow, so whenever there are heavy rains, water goes over the bridge and cars cannot use this road. This is one of the busiest roads in the area,” he said.
In the past, residents and business owners used to clean the river using money from their own pockets but ended giving up as their work always ended up down the drain – after a few weeks, the river would be polluted again, and no one was meeting them halfway.
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Ward 21 PR councillor Riona Gokool, who was doing an oversight visit, said it is shocking that a year later, despite both herself and residents reporting the damaged infrastructure, no work has been undertaken to fix, repair, maintain or even secure damaged sites.
“The roads, pipes and cables damaged by the storms are clearly an indication of years’ worth of non-maintenance. It is also very clear that the municipality does not have a concise and comprehensive report of all the storm damage and a strategic plan as to how to deal with the damage, coupled with routine maintenance and service delivery. It cannot be either-or as residents pay rates, taxes and their amenity bills on time so it should be all three.”
Gokool questioned how long residents are expected to deal with the ruined infrastructure.
“Homes and businesses are on the verge of collapse,” said a frustrated Gokool.
In response, the eThekwini Municipality said, “Thank you for bringing these to our attention. The relevant departments have been alerted and will investigate.”
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