Pretoria – A Johannesburg motorist got the shock of his life, and was left injured, when he plunged his vehicle plunged into a big hole in the middle of the road after municipal staff left it uncovered in Albertville, near Randburg.
The motorist had been travelling in their blue Toyota Tazz when the incident happened on Tuesday night.
Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo wished the injured motorist a speedy recovery, and added that the big hole was left open by City of Joburg staff.
“Let me confirm that the road we are referring to … the City of Joburg, according to reports we received last night, has been working on that road fixing a water leakage. They didn’t close the hole for a very long time, exposing road users to accidents,” Mamabolo to broadcaster eNCA.
“When we heard about this accident which happened yesterday (Tuesday) in the evening, we felt that leaving a hole open in the road for 48 hours – even though apparently this has gone on for a long time – we immediately dispatched our team this morning to go and check what is happening and what can be done,” he said.
Mamabolo said his team also contacted the Johannesburg Roads Agency, requesting them to come to the scene “and clarify what exactly is going on”.
“We found them and they will also be contacting Joburg Water. Both the Roads Agency and Joburg Water will be joining us at the site to make sure that we resolve the issue today to make sure that this thing that has happened doesn’t happen (again),” he said.
The motorist was injured.
“I must wish the motorist a speedy recovery, but the City of Johannesburg should not have left that trench unattended, and without securing it for motorists. At this point, it is not the time that we should be saying this sphere (of government) or that one … as a province we just want to make sure that the matter is resolved,” he said.
Mamabolo said in terms of his mandate, he will be engaging the City of Joburg working with his colleague responsible for cooperative governance.
Several Gauteng residents have taken to social media to detail how their tyres have been damaged after their vehicles plunged into potholes scattered across many roads across the province.
IOL