The Nkosi family from Ext 20 in eMbalenhle wants answers from the Govan Mbeki Municipality (GMM) after their shack fell into a trench that a contractor dug to fix the sewerage network on September 23.
Joseph Nkosi and his wife were at work when their neighbours called to report the destruction of their shack when the contractor dug too close to the shack.
“We left our children with their older sister that morning. Luckily, a neighbour rescued our five-year-old child trapped under a fallen kitchen cupboard,” Nkosi said.
This angry father wants to know how the municipality appointed an incompetent contractor to work within the community.
“If the contractor was competent and followed proper safety precautions, this would not have happened. We nearly lost our child if it was not for our neighbours,” said Nkosi.
He wants the municipality to take responsibility for appointing a contractor who destroyed their home.
Nkosi said their furniture was damaged in the incident.
Donald Green, GMM media liaison and content development officer, said the contractor reported on September 23 to the municipality that the wall collapsed on the side of the shack and agreed to fix the damage.
Green said the contractor fixed the damages and promised the family he would replace the appliances damaged during the incident.
“Nothing was left abandoned. Those are allegations; the municipality monitors the contractors. However, we were not there throughout their work. We do random inspections and visit occasionally,” said Green.
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