COMPENSATE US Water pipe project deaths pit families against contractor

Bereaved families hope construction company will pay Water pipe tender worth P900 million - WUC

The Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) is still waiting for a full report from Unik Construction Company explaining how two construction workers tragically died in Moshupa a fortnight ago. The two workers Notice Walebatla and Nono Lesego - died when a heap of sand collapsed on them inside a water trench that was still under construction in Maradung ward, Moshupa.

They were levelling the base (bedding) inside the six meter-deep trench to prepare for the fitting of water pipes when the heavy wet sand collapsed on them and they suffocated to death.

WUC Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs, Peter Sedingwe explained that the incident happened on the contractor’s side. “We are still waiting for a report on what really happened.

This is a sanitation project, they are replacing water pipes underground,” Sedingwe said. He said the Sanitation Scheme Project is worth P892 million. It started in 2020 and is expected to end in April 2023. Asked what measures are in place to ensure that WUC engages contractors that will not put the health of workers at risk, Sedingwe responded:

“We do all checks and give the tender only if we are convinced that those being contracted are capable of doing a clean job.

However, it does not mean that accidents will not happen. “We do not just award tenders and not keep an eye on the works being done. There are continuous assessments carried out to ensure that the works being done do not pose any threats to the workers and even the general public.”

Meanwhile, the families of the deceased are still waiting to hear what the contractor will be offering them as consolation. They are still convinced that had the contractor “not been careless,” the two workers would have not died.

They told this publication this week that they were not happy with how they were forced to wait until the eleventh hour to know if the construction company will be assisting with burial expenses or not.

One of the family members who preferred anonymity said that at one point they were not happy that Unik had given them only P20 000 to buy a coffin. They felt the money was just a drop in the ocean on the expenses that visited them because of the fatal incident. “We told them that we were not happy and after a back and forth that involved engaging WUC, we received an additional P12 000 and we proceeded with burial arrangements. “We were forced to follow them up until the very last day, forcing us to run around like headless chickens on the last day of burial.

We really hope that now that burial is out of the way, they will dig deeper into their pockets when they come back. Money will not bring back our children but we deserve compensation,” they said. By Tuesday afternoon this week, Unik Construction boss identified as Chiwanga, had not responded to a questionnaire sent to him two weeks ago.