Letters | Ignored open manholes are a danger

I am writing to place on record a serious safety hazard in Msunduzi Municipality’s ward 30, which the municipality continues to ignore despite repeated calls for the open manholes to be attended to. It shows a total lack of accountability. There are open manholes that have been left uncovered for years.

I, together with other residents of ward 30, have complained to the municipality via the call centre, via the roads department and via the ward councillor, but to date nothing has been done. I have records of the calls I have made to the municipality and also to the ward councillor via whatsApp. The open manholes are a danger to the many pedestrians using these roads any day and evening.

Children walk to school past these open manholes, with serious risk to their safety. Elderly residents, disabled people and workers coming home after dark all face the risk of falling in. It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed by these open manholes.

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This at a cost of millions to the municipality. Trichy Road, Old Greytown Road and Baijoo Road are just a few of the roads that need urgent attention. Manholes are part of basic infrastructure.

The serious lack of maintenance and upkeep shows a “don’t care” attitude towards residents who are rate-paying citizens. We pay for services yet are left to navigate these death traps on our roads. Msunduzi Municipality must explain why urgent upkeep has not been done. Public pressure is the only thing left when official channels fail.

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