Drowning-tragedy drain finally repaired
● Municipal staff step in after Herald report on legal battle over Jos-Lynn Olifant’s death
It took a child’s death and front-page article — but the manhole in Kariega where little Jos-Lynn Olifant drowned nearly seven years ago, has finally been fixed.
Yesterday, however, Nelson Mandela Bay municipality roads and storm water directorate senior superintendent Nokonwaba April told the high court in Gqeberha that no complaints had been lodged prior to the incident which might of prevented the tragedy.
The 17-month-old toddler drowned in the manhole near her home on the corner of Grootboom and Mielies streets in Greenfields on September 13 2014.
Jos-Lynn’s parents, Ntombizodwa Olifant and Johannes Barry are suing the city for almost R4m in damages for what they claim was negligence on the part of the municipality.
On Wednesday, Olifant told the court she and other residents had called the municipality’s customer services helpline on several occasions to report the open drain but no-one had ever come to fix the problem .
It is alleged the drain started filling up in 2013 from a burst water pipe up the road in Grootboom Street and a water leak around the corner in Mielies Street. Yesterday, April acknowledged it was the responsibility of municipal workers to report open drains which they may come across during their everyday duties.
She said there were no reports of complaints received by her office between January 2014 and September 2014 from Mielies Street but conceded that there were callouts to repair water leaks in the area.
Asked by advocate Hendrick van der Linde, instructed by attorney Wilma Espag-van der Bank, on behalf of Olifant, if there were reports of callouts to Grootboom Street during the same period, April said she did not have them with her.
April said it was difficult to manage the situation as the covers were stolen regularly.
“We know open drains pose a danger to pedestrians [but] we can’t lose sight of the fact that drain covers are stolen on a daily basis.
“We can repair them today and tomorrow it is stolen,” April said.
Little Jos-Lynn died after falling in the open drain. The postmortem stated the cause of death was drowning.
On Wednesday, the drain was still standing open albeit filled with litter.
Workers were seen throughout most of yesterday in the area repairing the drain.