Partially collapsing reservoir poses risk to villagers
ATOK
Residents of Malomanye Village outside Atok in Fetakgomo Local Municipality Ward 34, say they are worried about the leaking reservoir that pose danger to their children.
According to the community, the reservoir has been leaking for the past eight years and flooding local trenches with water.
“There are fears from the community that children can drown because the trenches are located closer to their playground in the village,” said a community leader Sello Kupa.
According to Kupa, the reservoir was constructed in 2008 and started developing serious cracks and water leaks a few years later, as a result of shoddy work done by the contractor who was appointed by Sekhukhune District Municipality.
“It started with the appearance of cracks about two years after the reservoir was constructed and then followed the leaks. This is shoddy work by the contractor. It is unlikely for the reservoir to crack in such a short space of time,” he said.
Kupa said for the past three years, residents engaged in talks with the Sekhukhune District Municipality to fix the reservoir and are still in vain waiting for their response.
“The municipality officials we were engaging with are no longer taking our calls. We are concerned because there is also potential of further damage that can lead the reservoir to collapse. We are also worried that there will be a serious shortage of water in the village when the reservoir collapses,” he said.
Kupa said the community wants the district municipality engineers to come and conduct structural assessment and repair the reservoir.
“The reservoir is partially collapsing. There are signs that the reservoir could fall apart anytime soon because concrete joints are expanding and more cracks are formed on the structure,” he said.
When Sekhukhune Times contact Sekhukhune District Municipality for a comment, an employee, who is now no longer authorized to respond to media queries, told the paper that currently, the district municipality has no spokesperson after the departure of Communications Manager Moloko Moloto.
However, the official promised to pass the message to the executive mayor and municipal manager. The district municipality’s response did not reach the paper at time of print.
