Newcastillians are well-acquainted with ongoing infrastructure issues, but has the situation reached a point where the safety of local residents is now at risk? This question arises following the rapid expansion of a pothole along Osborne Road, which is now becoming a sinkhole, posing a significant hazard to motorists using the road.
To make matters even worse, a pool of sewage has accumulated along Osborne Road, leaving residents struggling to navigate their way around the stench and waste while attempting to avoid the growing sinkhole.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, shared their frustrations over the lack of response to the situation. “These issues have been ongoing for some time, and nothing is being done. My last municipal account was just over R3000, and I live alone, and I know that I am not the only one with a high municipal bill. The thing is, why must we pay these high municipal bills, and we get no service delivery?”
As the sinkhole continues to grow in size with each passing day, exacerbated by the weather conditions that further damage the road, Newcastillian News approached Newcastle Municipality’s Ward Councillor for the area, Cllr Shandy Singh, for an update on the situation.
Cllr Singh confirmed that he was fully aware of the developing sinkhole and had already taken steps to address the issue. “The director of the relevant department and I will be doing a site inspection at the sinkhole. From there, steps will be taken to temporarily fix the road and, once the necessary materials such as tar arrive at the Municipality, we will then conduct the permanent repairs,” he explained.
On the matter of the constant flow of sewage along Osborne Road, Cllr Singh reassured residents that he had already made several complaints to the relevant sewage and sanitation department.
“The problem stems from a collapsed pipe, and the necessary teams are now locating the site of the issue,” Cllr Singh explained. He added that once the collapsed pipe was located, the Newcastle Municipality would acquire the necessary parts and resolve the ongoing sewage problem, which has been affecting residents living on Osborne Road.
While Cllr Singh has assured residents that both the sinkhole and sewage issues will be addressed in due course, Councillor Connie Hariram provided insight into the broader challenges faced by the municipality. She acknowledged that these issues were not isolated to Osborne Road but were prevalent across all Newcastle wards.
“We lack service delivery, but we need to understand that the Newcastle Municipality currently lacks the necessary funds. At the moment, the Newcastle Municipality and its officials are working hard to sort out the infrastructure issues with the resources we have available until we secure more funding,” said Cllr Hariram.
She also highlighted that to prevent similar issues in the future, all of Newcastle’s roads and sewage pipes would need to be addressed comprehensively. “To resolve these challenges long-term, we must overhaul all of the town’s infrastructure. This is a town-wide issue, and it requires a significant investment to address properly,” added Cllr Hariram.
Moreover, she further pointed out that there was only one team to conduct the necessary repairs to infrastructural issues, due to the Municipality’s financial situation. With this in mind, Cllr Hariram assured residents that the Newcastle Municipality was truly doing its best as it worked on improving its financial standing.
As Osborne Road continues to battle both a growing sinkhole and ongoing sewage leaks, the question remains: what more can be done to address these severe infrastructure problems?
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Comments 1
4 years down the line and they still do not have the Funds? This is the most useless administration to ever run the Newcastle municipality.