Safety signage placed at Manie Mulder
On Friday, 14 May, two warning signs were placed at the Manie Mulder Adventure Park waterfall as one of the steps taken to prevent further drownings in the 'holy' water.
The Manie Mulder Adventure Park has become one of the main topics of concerns for Roodepoort residents, especially those living in the vicinity.
Following five drownings in a period of six months, uproar turned into action when the Ward 83 councillor, Florence Roberts, opened a case of culpable homicide against the MMC for Community Development, Margaret Arnolds. Florence opened the case hoping it would force the MMC to take action.
The MMC responded to questions sent by the Record, outlining measures taken to prevent further drownings and thankfully, since the last incident on 18 April, there have been no reports of bodies found at the waterfall. Among the measures taken was the procurement of precautionary signs to be placed at the waterfall.
On Friday, 14 May, the two signs were placed in the park. These signs warn against the slippery steps on the way down to the waterfall, and that no fires, alcohol, diving, swimming and camping were allowed at the waterfall. Another act that will now not be allowed at the waterfall is rituals; the reason the drowning victims were believed to be in the water to begin with. For years, the belief that the water rushing through the park is holy has attracted pilgrims wanting to perform religious ceremonies. Unfortunately, a deep cavern often pulls unsuspecting pilgrims below the waterfall, resulting in their untimely death.
Florence hopes that with these sign boards finally installed, visitors to the park will be better informed of the waterfall’s safety rules. However, while she believes the boards are necessary, she worries they will do very little to deter the pilgrims who continue to enter the park illegally to conduct their religious ceremonies. She called on the MMC to address the issue of park rangers and security being critically needed at the park, along with repairing the broken guard rails on the foot path, and inserting a shelf in the dam and fencing around it.
Florence continued to say that it is unfortunate that a culpable homicide case needed to be opened in order to force action, but she hopes that the MMC will follow through with making the park safe for its visitors.
MMC Margaret Arnolds has been approached for comment, but by the time of publication, none had been received.
