A housing complex that runs adjacent to the street is being accused of being the root cause of the problem.
Marianne Nel of the Vorna Valley Resident Association and Ward 112 councillor Candice James said they were present as the Johannesburg Roads Agency pulled out a truckload of rubbish from the drain pipes that emanate from the complex.
Apparently a concrete slab was removed by the staff of the complex so that they could throw rubbish down the drains. The drain pipes then became blocked, and burst which damages the street from underneath.
“Unfortunately, South Africans don’t know the meaning of consequences these days,” lamented James.
A representative from the complex, who did not want to be named, said the complex was taking some of the responsibility for the garbage that was found in the pipes, but not all the responsibility.
“We are still waiting for city council to confirm if we are the only complex that the pipes are allocated to,” the representative said. “Over the period of 10 years that we’ve been here, a lot could have happened.”
She said sometimes the city council did not collect the refuse which was then washed into the pipes. Another possible factor, she said, could be the recyclers who look for recyclable materials in the complex’s dustbins before being collected by Pikitup.
“They don’t care about where the rest of the rubbish goes, as long as they find valuables,” she said. When questioned about the complex’s next steps to curb the situation, she said staff members had already been reprimanded. They’ve also approached surrounding complexes about the issue and they’ve closed the opening in the drain that was used for garbage disposal.
The agency’s spokesperson, Bertha Peters-Scheepers said she could not confirm that the complex was to blame at the time of print, however she did confirm that the agency was investigating the matter.
Who is to blame in this situation? Share your views in the comments section below.
Read more on: cant find online links.
