Tshwane will not act over kids’ drowning
Construction firm won’t comment
Following yet a similar drowning incident in Mamelodi where two boys lost their lives over the weekend, the City of Tshwane says its hands are tied on taking any action on the incident as it can only respond when complaints of non-compliance have been raised.
Friends Siyabonga Mabila, 7, and Lawrence Tshwenu, 5, from Skierliek in Mamelodi drowned while swimming in a dam about 200m from their homes at the weekend.
Tshwane mayor Randall Williams’ spokesperson Jordan Griffiths said the company was working on a project unrectors dertaken by the provincial government which the city has no authority over despite the site being in the city’s jurisdiction.
Kings Civil Engineering Contractors, a company involved in the site of this incident, refused to comment on their responsibility in ensuring that the area was secured and safely cordoned off.
The company is currently building a road in the township and has been digging a quarry from the site in Mamelodi near the informal settlement of Skierlik. The quarry has now developed into a dam that catches rainwater.
Andre Bosman, one of the diof Kings Civil Engineering Contractors, yesterday refused to answer questions about their responsibility in ensuring that the site which had developed into a dam was safely secured and cordoned off.
“We are not going to answer any of your questions because we are going to be cooperating with the investigation,” Bosman said.
Local councillor Rebone Maleka said there had been security guards stationed at the site previously but she was not aware of what happened to the security guards.
“I cannot speak much about the security because I don’t know what happened to that arrangement but when it rains water fills up that entire area, and it becomes a very big dam,” she said.