Community worry about digging at daycare centre in eMbalenhle
"We worry for the disabled people living at the centre and the children attending the daycare,” said a community member."
The community members of Ext 17, eMbalenhle, are worried about their houses and the safety of their children.
These residents are accusing the owner of Vukukhanye Daycare Centre of illegal mining inside the centre’s premises.
According to them, they noticed something strange was happening at the daycare centre three weeks ago.
“When we first saw a pile of soil, we thought there might be renovations at the centre, but we were surprised when we saw it had become a large and dangerous hole.
“We worry for the disabled people living at the centre and the children attending the daycare,” said a community member.
“I went to ask the owner what she was doing, and she said her ancestors had told her to dig until she found what they gave her,” said the resident.
This is not the first time someone has dug a hole in a garden in eMbalenhle. A traditional healer and her son were arrested and charged with illegal mining in Ext 19 five years ago.
When the healer was asked why she was putting residents’ lives in danger, she said at the time that her ancestors told her to dig to get her fortune that is underground.
Ridge Times asked the centre owner, Christina Mtsweni, why she was digging the hole. She said it was personal.
She wanted to know why the residents were so concerned with what was happening in her yard.
“They claim I put the children’s lives in danger, but it is untrue. I stopped the centre’s operations before I began digging. Only the disabled people still use the centre.
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“These disabled people do not even come near my work (digging). They are always indoors,” said Mtsweni.
“This is my yard, and what I do is not anyone’s problem. I dug this hole for personal reasons. My gates are always locked, so no one’s life is at risk,” said Mtsweni.
The Govan Mbeki Municipality spokesperson, Donald Green, said illegal mining is a criminal activity, regardless of where it is conducted.
Green said community members should report the matter to the SAPS. The eMbalenhle police spokesperson, Constable Busi Mthethwa, said they are unaware of the illegal mining activity at the centre, and no case has been reported.
