Residents frustrated with mess left by fibre network installers

As service providers scramble to ensure they get their piece of the fibre pie, areas across Nelson Mandela Bay have been left in a state of ruin, with driveways and pavements dug up, and road crossings with trenches so deep that residents have complained that their vehicles have been damaged.

But who is to blame for the mess being made and, in some cases, left behind?

Service providers such as Frogfoot and MetroFibre say they work within the parameters set out by wayleaves agreed to by the municipality, which state that damaged infrastructure and facilities is a collective responsibility to fix between service providers, contractors and the municipality in certain aspects.

However, municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said it was up to the companies in question to fix any infrastructure they had damaged.

Many residents have, since March, voiced their displeasure with the remains of trenching around the Bay.

Carol Visser, 38, of Walmer, said that over the past few months she had noted several new trenches across the city which had first been temporarily fixed with sand and gravel but had since been emptying as there had been no permanent rectification.

Dewald Erasmus, 42, of Newton Park, said though he was happy to receive fibre connection to his area, it was frustrating to see how contractors had merely covered up trenches and left the streets and pavements in a mess.

MetroFibre Networx project manager Henry Wilkens said their teams went to tremendous lengths to ensure they avoided damaging existing services.

“Despite our best efforts, however, sometimes things do go wrong, which we fix as quickly as possible and within the constraints of what is allowed by the municipality,” Wilkens said.

He said their municipal wayleave provided all the necessary permissions from the council to install the fibre network in the various areas.

“MetroFibre and any of our approved contractors immediately disclose instances of damage to the relevant service provider. MetroFibre (and our contractors) are not allowed to fix damage to a facility belonging to another service provider, the council or any municipality — these repairs must be done by the service provider concerned,” Wilkens said.

Frogfoot regional project manager for the Eastern Cape Marius Snyman said in the case of pavements, verges and driveways, fibre contractors were entirely responsible for the temporary and permanent reinstatements of these areas.

For road surfaces, fibre contractors were responsible for temporary repairs to ensure a continuous level surface to avoid possible vehicle damage.

“The request to do the permanent reinstatement is then handed over to the council-appointed contractors.

“With the amount of work performed over the past few months, there have been delays, but all the roleplayers are working non-stop to address the backlog,” Snyman said.

Openserve, which falls under Telkom, failed to respond to questions, despite numerous attempts over several days to obtain comment.

Telkom spokesperson Mooketsi Mocumi said: “Companies must fix damages they made in the course of their work.

“There is no agreement [for the municipality to do so] that I am aware of.”