Africa-Press – Eswatini. Residents of Matsapha have raised concerns over some manholes that have been left unattended in the area, posing danger.
The residents said they would sometimes fall into these manholes, and would at times drive into them with their vehicles. They said they were lucky that no life had been lost yet but feared there could be in the future. One motorist got his car stuck in a manhole within the town, along the Galp depot. He reported the matter to the town council. Matsapha Town Council Spokesperson Sihle Sihlongonyane said they were aware of the issue. However, Sihlongonyane said the manhole did not belong to the town council. He said they had a number of manholes which belonged to some government parastatals, including Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC).
The spokesperson stated that they received a complaint around April from a resident whose vehicle had been trapped inside a manhole and approached EPTC to attend to it. He said the entity stated that they would address the issue. Sihlongonyane alleged the manhole in question belonged to EPTC as confirmed by their engineering team. “We have been engaging with the entity that owns this particular manhole and many more around the town to ensure that all manholes under their ownership are well maintained,” he said.
Obligation
According to Sihlongonyane, the council had an obligation to ensure that the town was safe for all, hence their constant engagement with stakeholders, which was a sign of their commitment towards ensuring safety and development of the town. When reached for comment, EPTC Corporate Affairs Manager Nqobile Magagula said most of their manholes had been affected by the continuous vandalism. Magagula said the manhole referred to was, however, not theirs. She added that their maintenance department also said they had not received any complaints or engagements from the Matsapha Town Council on manholes. Magagula said a complaint was received from Mbabane Municipal Council regarding a manhole near Lilunga House on Somhlolo Road a while back and it was fixed.
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