Tshwane metro fixes sinkholes
Booming development in Pretoria, from the city centre through to Laudium in the west, has been blamed for dozens of sinkholes.
The municipality said the area of 460 square kilometres, which is dolomitic, has seen massive development over many decades, exacerbating the precarious situation.
According to the Council for Geoscience, sinkholes in South Africa occur in areas underlain by dolomite rock.
The sinkholes have brought distress to residents, damaged houses and kill business, with the problem brought to the fore when parts of the R55 in Laudium caved into a 25m diameter and 5m-deep sinkhole.
Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for economic development and spatial planning, Randall Williams, said the dolomitic area was in region three and four (Fairie Glen up to Alexandra, Silverlakes to the former Kungwini) as well as Region 6 which covered Centurion up to Laudium.
“… in this 460 square kilometres we have had massive development,” Williams said.
He, however, said they could not halt development as it was too late to do so but that developers should ensure the ground was suitable for specific development.
“We cannot raise that as a reason because Centurion would otherwise not exist. It should not exist if we use that as a reason for not allowing any development,” he said.
Williams was speaking during the update on the fixing of sinkholes in the municipality, including the one in Centurion, which the metro said was 90% complete yesterday.
The metro said the sinkholes in Lyttleton Manor and Irene have been successfully repaired, with R27.5-million allocated for the repairs of five of the highest-ranked sinkholes.
Another R25-million will be made available in the next financial year for the rehabilitation of sinkholes.
Sheila Senkubuge, MMC responsible for roads and transport, said there were 31 sinkholes and that reports compiled by the technical teams highlight the status of every sinkhole in the metro and the current status of repairs.