Imagine having to fork out R600,000 from your own pocket to close a sinkhole on your business property, only for another to resurface five years later — this time at the entrance of your business.
This is what happened to a panel-beating business in Centurion when a sinkhole developed on its property in March 2018.
The company’s MD, who wished to remain anonymous, said as the sinkhole was on its property and not the municipality’s, it had to bear the costs of closing up the hole.
“It cost R600,000 and I fixed it up at my own cost. The sinkhole was inside my shop. And now there is another one. I am renting here and I don’t have insurance for the property but only for the cars. This affected my business big time.”
In April last year, another small hole developed at the entrance of his business, which quickly grew into a sinkhole. Since then, the road has been cordoned off and motorists have to make a detour.
“The road is closed and customers don’t want to come here because there is a sinkhole. I provide service to car dealerships. Now we are getting more rain and it is likely we will see more sinkholes. This area is very old,” he said.
The manager of a catering business in the area, who also requested anonymity, said they are losing customers.
“It has taken a knock on the company because the customers don’t know where to go, so they drive away. We are losing a lot of customers. The sinkhole makes this area look dodgy. The municipality doesn’t seem to be prioritising it,” she said.
Residents face safety risks, but city cannot help
Residents in Burger Avenue in Lyttelton, Centurion, which is fenced off, with locked gates, say crime seems to have increased in the area since the fence was erected.
The residents were surprised by a loud bang in the early hours of August 7 last year, which turned out to be the tarred road cracking due to a sinkhole developing.
Since then, the area has been fenced off. However, Lyttelton Crime Stop has alerted the municipality about damage to the fence, which has led to increased criminal activity.
On November 22, a resident called the neighbourhood watch at about 4am to report two suspects in the fenced area with what may have been a stolen bicycle. Security responded quickly, but the suspects managed to flee. “Later in the morning, the resident found both his dogs had been poisoned with [poison] hidden in sausage and thrown over the wall. One dog has died,” Lyttelton Crime Stop said.
In an email, the municipality said it was the responsibility of owners to safeguard their properties.
Bruno Simão, a resident in the fenced area, whose wall cracked and fell into the hole, said he felt he had no control over the security of his property.
“I am at a loss for options given that no amount of alarms is going to get first responders to me on time in the event of a home invasion, nor will they be able to manoeuvre [around] the sinkhole, and perimeter security has never proven effective nor possible under the current construct. This is not to mention not having access to extra funding,” he said.
City’s water leakages major cause of sinkholes
Tshwane has 49 sinkholes on its priority list for repairs, and more than half are caused by water and sewer leakages, especially on dolomite land as it has cavities underground.
The cost of repairing a sinkhole can vary between R500,000 to more than R20m, depending on the size and complexity. The repair process takes about nine months depending on the complexity of the sinkhole and the condition of the site, City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said.
Water leakages are a common cause of sinkholes developing, more so on roads than residential properties due to water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure located under roads or pavements. In September, Richards Street in Pierre van Ryneveld was saturated by water due to an underground leakage
Due to the ongoing municipal workers’ strike, the leakage was left unattended for close to a week, softening the tarred road and eventually opening a small hole in the street.
The leakage was eventually repaired and the small hole closed before leading to yet another sinkhole in Centurion.
A sinkhole in Burgers Avenue also developed due to a burst water pipe.
The pipe spewed litres of water, resulting in a four-metre-deep sinkhole in just two hours.
Resident Chiraag Simão said she was struggling to claim from her home insurance.
“The insurance said they would not pay out because it was negligence on the municipality's behalf because there was a water leak from the pipes. There is a lot of frustration. We need to know what the plan is,” she said.
No closure of sinkhole drama any time soon
Region 4, which covers parts of Centurion such as Irene up to Olievenhoutbosch, is the worst affected by sinkholes. Other areas include Silverton, Mamelodi and Silver Lakes.
However, only three sinkholes have successfully been filled and closed since the 2021 financial year.
“The budget for 2021/22 financial year was R17.9m and for 2022/23 financial year it was R25.9m. We are planning to repair three to four sinkholes in the current financial year,” Mashigo said.
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