Wave of disrepair
Concern as BCM drags feet to fix damage
IT HAS been almost a month since the monstrous waves hit the shores of East London beaches but the pedestrian pavements are still damaged and not cordoned off – an obvious danger to the public. There is also still lots of sea sand on the road and the concrete refuse bins that were washed away, have not been collected from where it ended up.
Buffalo City Metro (BCM) spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said the insurance assessor has been on site. This included the structural engineer to assess the damages, as well as to check what has been insured and what the municipality has to do on its own to repair the damages.
The day after the wave disaster, the Esplanade was closed off to traffic as BCM workers cleaned up sand and debris, loading smashed cement bins, bricks and piles of wood onto dump trucks.
However, upon a visit last week, there was still sand on the sidewalks in the area between Sugarshack Backpackers and Glen Eden.
“With regards to the sand, the metro is dealing with it on a daily basis. Roads were closed following the massive waves and a lot of debris was removed,” Ngwenya said.
The broken pavement with its huge, deep holes was not cordoned off or have any sign warning people of the possible danger it posed.
Bypasser Xolani Mzuku said he is disappointed that the BCM has not even tried to fix the concrete sidewalks as they are a danger, especially to children.
“How long are they going to leave it like this? We are approaching the summer season and the kids would want to run around and play by the beach.
“This should have been fixed a long time ago, but I am not surprised at all. All the BCM cares about is changing street names instead of fixing what is broken,” Mzuku said.
Neil Smith, who started the Fix our Broken City page on Facebook, said: “We understand this kind of damage takes a while to repair but could it not be cordoned off to stop people from falling into the holes?”
Ngwenya said the magnitude of the tide caused severe damage which will take a bit longer to repair.
“There are issues of erosion and rehabilitation, and those will need an Environmental Impact Assessment Study.”