6 families stuck in the deep end
Six families living along the Dieprivier Road, as well as the Roots Primary School, have been cut off for four months because hardly any action is taken to repair flooding on the road (also known as Rietvlei Road) after excessive rains this year. This, it appears, while a project manager has been appointed to have the work done and the necessary equipment and material were available on site. The road is only passable by 4x4 vehicles.
A resident living along the road, Hettie Share, has been battling to get the authorities to make the flooded road passable. Share is extremely frustrated with the lack of action.
Her complaints reached the desks of Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, the provincial minister of infrastructure, the provincial HoD of infrastructure, the district road engineer, Bitou Mayor Dave Swart and other Bitou municipal officials.
The only lasting solution, she says, is to raise the road and install the necessary piping at the same time, once the water has receded. Contingency plans have even been made with the Bitou Municipality’s fire brigade in case "of a life-threatening crisis".
Share says her 92-year-old mother, who lives with her, had a doctor's appointment on 10 July, but they could not get through the water. She could only get another appointment on 2 October, which they could not make either. In the end, special arrangements were made to have her mother's medication delivered at the house.
Share is disgusted with the lack of productivity on the part of the road gang
assigned to repair the road. "I am shocked at the amount of time they spent sitting in vehicles sleeping. It's been about five weeks since material arrived... what a sad situation, can only imagine what a state their department is in…” she says.
Share has shared email communication between her and municipal officials with KPH. In one of the letters, an official involved in the project said, "I had a very firm discussion this morning with the appointed project manager and told him that the water had been pumped out last week and that was the ideal opportunity for them to start. They didn't, even though all the necessary equipment and material were already available on site."
Says Share, "He promised that they would immediately proceed with the project. I promised him that if they don't, I will take it up with their top management. Fingers crossed.”
The parents of the affected school children organised a tractor-pulled trailer to transport the children on weekdays.
Bitou Municipality could not provide comment before going to print.