Impaired woman slips on municipal rubbish

POLOKWANE – A daily walk for exercise almost turned in to a serious injury for a Polokwane resident on Friday, July 31.

Edna Pearson, who makes use of crutches to move around, could have been seriously injured when she walked to a friend’s business in Marshall Street. “I was going around the corner of Bodenstein and Marshall Streets trying to avoid the large heap of tar on the pavement, when one of my crutches slipped on the loose tar. I fell with my arm breaking my fall.

“It is infuriating for pedestrians, especially for people like myself, who make use of pavements to get around safely, and then having to deal with things like municipal waste and even rubbish dumped on pavements. I am also a tax payer and have just as much right on the pavement as vehicles do in the street. I just wish that the municipality would see it in the same way,” Pearson said.

Polokwane municipal spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene, said the municipality is looking into the matter, but it is standard practice for municipal workers to remove all rubble and tar within hours of completing a job. She added that this is the rule given to contractors when work is being done and that work will also not be certified as completed when this has not been done.

Chuene admitted that there were areas in the city where the full scope of the work had not been completed and that the municipality’s investigation into Pearson’s complaint would be to determine the validity of the case. She said that the municipality encourages residents to report matters like these as they are committed to a clean environment and the safety of the city’s residents.

Complaints in this regard can be directed to the municipality during office hours on (015) 290 2372.