Ladysmith: uThukela says local municipality is responsible for fixing all broken fire hydrants
"All fire hydrants and fire stations in and around town are the competency of the local municipality, and in the case of Ladysmith, they belong to Alfred Duma Local Municipality"
Ladysmith KZN – uThukela District Municipality has responded following an article that was published in the Ladysmith Gazette, in which Monument Primary School expressed concern about the safety of the learners and the damage to the school.
Also read: Ladysmith: Libraries re-open in lockdown level 1
“The fire hydrant at the corner of Reitz and De Wet Street was hit by a vehicle and has still not been attended to. This is a volatile situation, as the school fire hoses and extinguishers will not be adequate if a massive fire breaks out,” said school principal Mr Rich. “Learners walking to and from school down De Wet Street need to be extremely careful, as more than 10 manhole covers are missing. There were two incidents where learners fell into manholes and were injured. De Wet Street has become unsafe and is a concern for us at Monument,” he added.
While Monument ponders its own area, other areas face similar problems – from missing hydrants to countless streets without working streetlights. According to IFP councillor Abbas Warasally, the following roads have almost no working streetlights: Burma Road, Kandahar Avenue, Lucknow Road, Maple Crescent and Klipbank Road.
The delay in repairing the streetlights evidently stems from three Cherry Picker trucks being out of commission and the municipality waiting for budget allocations in order to repair them.
uThukela District has since commented on these matters, clearly stating that they must not be blamed for damaged fire hydrants, as it is the duty of Alfred Duma Local Municipality to make sure they are maintained properly.“ All the fire hydrants and fire stations in and around town are the competency of the local municipality, and in the case of Ladysmith, they belong to Alfred Duma Local Municipality. The local municipality only buys water from uThukela District, as we are the Water Service Authority.
Also read: Ladysmith: Water supply disruption causes havoc at Provincial Hospital
“All enquiries in that regard should be directed to Alfred Duma Municipality; it is their property,” read a statement from uThukela communications manager Jabulani Mkhonza.
Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Join us there!
