Environmental activist in Carletonville says sinkholes caused by lack of infrastructure maintenance
While sinkholes occur when infrastructure is built on dolomite rocks, Jeremiah Ramokgoatedi said the government had failed by neglecting the land.
JOHANNESBURG - An environmental activist in Carletonville has said that the recurring sinkholes in the area were caused by a lack of infrastructure maintenance.
While sinkholes occur when infrastructure is built on dolomite rocks, Jeremiah Ramokgoatedi said the government had failed by neglecting the land.
The area is grappling with aging infrastructure and burst sewage pipes that have reportedly been unmaintained for almost ten years now.
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Ramokgoatedi said that last year in October, Khutsong recorded around 10 sinkholes and since then, the number had doubled.
He said there had been little to no effort to repair water infrastructure that worsens the sinkholes.
For years now, he has written to government officials to intervene to no avail.
"If you don’t maintain infrastructure knowing very well that Gauteng province is underlined by dolomite rock and then later you tell the community that these things are God-created, it’s wrong, it’s misleading," said Ramokgoatedi.
He added that the government avoided responsibility because sinkholes were natural disasters.