A Toekomsrus councillor has spoken out about the area’s storm-water drain woes and how a boy recently nearly drowned after falling from his bicycle into water from a blocked storm-water drain.
While most of the country welcomes the rain, residents of Toekomsrus now fear for their children’s safety as well as damage to their streets and homes.
DA Ward 8 councillor, Jetta Beaufort, said she reported the dangers of two blocked and broken storm-water drains to the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM), but said it has all been in vain.
One of the storm-water drains is located on Gold Street near the R559, which is one of only two entrances to and exits from Toekomsrus. “The road makes a dip at the drain and when it rains, cars can not get in or out. People need to use this road to go to work, but if they do take it, their cars will get damaged,” she said.
Beaufort also said children walk along this road from Mohlakeng to Toekomsrus to go to school, which poses a great danger to them, especially when the drain is blocked.
Just a street away from Gold Street is a collapsed drain in the Pearl Street cul de sac, which is also located in a dip. Beaufort said a young boy nearly drowned after falling from his bicycle and into the water in December last year.
She said water from the blocked drain has caused a wall in a resident’s yard to collapse which he keeps having to rebuild. “All this resident does is build and build because the water keeps getting into his yard and damaging his property,” she explained.
In addition to the water damaging walls, Beaufort said she fears the water levels will reach an open electricity box in the cul de sac. This she has also reported to the RWCLM, but it has also not been fixed. That electricity box is not the only one in the area. While she was walking through her ward to identify problem areas, she noted many boxes with live, exposed wires.
Beaufort said although her requests to the municipality have been ignored, she will continue reporting and fighting for the problems to be solved.
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