The mayor of Tshwane Solly Msimanga and Gauteng Premier David Makhura visited Laudium in Centurion on Monday to assess the damage caused by sinkholes in the area.
Roads and transport MEC Ismail Vadi was also there.
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They explained that the area was dolomitic in nature and with heavy rains cave-ins were natural. Makhura and Msimanga asked for patience and understanding from residents while infrastructure was repaired and communities needed to be resettled from places he described as “high-risk”. This, too, would come at a high cost.
Makhura said it was often difficult to explain to communities that they could not build their houses in dolomitic areas for safety reasons.
Msimanga said there were numerous infrastructure challenges in Tshwane, with the cost of replacing asbestos pipes alone estimated at as much as R2 billion.
An existing sinkhole on the R55 in Laudium Centurion caved in badly over the weekend, resulting in the collapse of the walls of two nearby private residences.
The sinkhole, which made its appearance two weeks ago, is about 7 to 8 metres deep. It is also spread across both lanes of the provincial route.
The collapse happened just before 11pm on Saturday night, according to Laudium disaster management spokesperson Ibraheem Dockrat, Centurion Rekord reports.
“The sinkhole has now spread across the R55 northbound lane,” he said.
He warned that the surrounding ground was very unstable and would continue to collapse.
Residents and motorists were advised to exercise extreme caution in the area and to not stop to view the sinkhole.
Dockrat said technical teams will continue testing the ground to determine the extent of the damage.
“The ground is unstable and further collapses are imminent.”
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