Alec Waldeck is furious about the state of Presidents Dam and by the City of Ekurhuleni’s inaction.
He writes:
When I received our Advertiser this morning I was once again furious about the plague that contaminates our beautiful natural resources and the lack of action by our authorities to curb the problem.
Surely, ward councillor Ramesh Sheodin should be aware that for six years or more, the City of Ekurhuleni had a boat with all the necessary equipment on board to successfully removed the hyacinth.
Please tell us what happened to this machine. Nowadays contractors are hired and paid without being able to solve the problem.
Also read: Residents of Molendam upset by lack of service delivery
The same unit was used to clear the Benoni dams. Our money is wasted.
Please, councillors come forward and do what you are supposed to do while representing us as residents of Dersley and Springs.
We will wait for a generous answer via our newspaper, the Advertiser.
Editor’s note: Nhlanhla Cebekhulu, divisional head of communication and media relations at the City of Ekurhuleni, said the Watermaster machine, which is used to clear the hyacinth, was last deployed on Presidents Dam in October 2020.
Also read: Promising progress on Presidents dam
Regarding the allegation by residents that they have only seen the machine being used a couple of times, Cebekhulu said the Watermaster has been in the City since 2010 and has been used at different water bodies in Germiston, Brakpan, Benoni and President Dam.
“Future plans include having a service provider to work on the cleaning of President Dam in the coming weeks. Work will start as soon as work orders have been issued,” said Cebekhulu.
He also clarified that the discarded hyacinth left to rot on the side of the dam was left there to dry before it was transported away.
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