Durban - The eThekwini Municipality said yesterday that teams had been sent to clear up the mess on Musgrave pavements left behind by contractors for weeks, following residents’ complaints.
It includes piles of rubble that has prevented elderly people using walkers from attending services at the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, a damaged manhole that exposes a long drop and heavy electric cabling exposed on the pavement.
“The city is aware and teams have been instructed to commence with repairs. The electricity department was advised to go and secure their cables hanging in the area,” municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela told the Independent on Saturday when it approached the municipality after residents’ complaints.
“The rubble will be removed,” he added.
The manner in which fibre cables have been laid has been an issue for local ward councillor Remona McKenzie, who said the contractors had not respected an agreement to inform her exactly where they would be working, and when, so she could inform residents of work going on in their streets.
Holy Trinity priest Father Lindo Miya said three elderly women who depended on walkers to get to church along the pavement had missed out on attending Sunday services because of the state of the pavements.
St Thomas Road resident Kelvin Caldwell lashed out at the shoddy workmanship, saying the fibre ditches had not even been dug in a straight line.
“I actually saw a guy with a rock and a piece of clay, running it on the floor and marking the floor and cutting it according to that. All they need to do is take a chalk line and cut it straight,” said Caldwell, who worked in construction for 42 years, often doing jobs for the municipality.
“They are going to come back and tar it and they will reinstate it exactly like this. Crooked. So, for the rest of our lives, when they have been paid, we have to look at this every single day.”
Caldwell said that when he did jobs for the city, the clerk of works would watch them.
“There’s no way we would get away with this sort of work. He would just not even put the payment through.”
Martin Grove of Coridi Contractors said there had been complications with old infrastructure and rains and that work was happening according to a schedule.
Grove added that digging lines may appear not be straight but that risk evaluations were conducted because the ground under the pavement was extremely populated with other services, such as water pipes.
He said he had two networks with residents and that pamphlets were placed in post boxes to keep residents abreast of developments.
He also said workers would spend the weekend clearing away rubble.
The city said in a statement: “Please remind readers and residents that our Roads and Stormwater Maintenance Department has a dedicated Clerk of Works who monitors these contractors and ensures compliance out on site.
“They are the first point of contact in the event of any damages or non-compliance. They are also entitled to stop work in case of major transgression.
“We urge residents who would like to report or find out more information about the fibre installations in the area to call Roads and Stormwater Maintenance on 031 322 7241. All damages should be reported to this number as well, so that the offending parties can be dealt with.”
Criticising the city, McKenzie said that for clean-ups to happen only after matters received media attention was not how things should work.
The Independent on Saturday