eMbalenhle family’s fears grow as sinkhole expands
Thoko Mahlangu told the newspaper they now have two problems: the hole and the sewage spill from one of the manholes inside their yard.
No one from the Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) has yet visited a family in whose yard a sinkhole formed next to a sewage manhole.
Ridge Times reported about this suspected sinkhole in a residential yard in eMbalenhle three weeks ago.
According to the Mahlangu family, the situation is getting worse because the hole is becoming bigger daily and now the water inside becomes dark.
Thoko Mahlangu told the newspaper they now have two problems: the hole and the sewage spill from one of the manholes inside their yard.
“Is the municipality waiting for one of our children to fall in and die before they act? We must keep our five children indoors because we are worried they might play near this hole. We also have sleepless nights because there are two manholes in one yard,” said Mahlangu.
The Mahlangu family wants the municipality to see their living conditions before someone gets hurt.
“This is an emergency and requires urgent attention, but it seems our municipality does not care.
“Even our ward councillor has done nothing about our situation since we reported it. One ward committee member is the only person who bothers to check on us almost every day, although there is nothing he can do.
“We cannot even sleep peacefully at night because we don’t know when our house is going to sink,” said Mahlangu
He said after noticing the hole in the last three months, they began filling it up with ash, but the ash disappeared.
The acting head of communications at the GMM, Donald Green, said the municipality was aware of and concerned about the matter.
Green said they dispatched their team to the area for intervention who would attend to it. He said the municipality will keep the affected members of the community updated on progress.
