A SINKHOLE has left some residents of Rondebult in Ekurhuleni fearing for their lives.
They fear their homes could be swallowed by the sinkhole, which appeared recently.
The distraught residents told the People’s Paper they fear they might find themselves buried deep in the sinkhole.
Khanyisa Ntambo (36) said: “It started on Monday but the whole was small. But on Monday night, it started to be serious after the ground caved in and it opened wide.”
She said the collapse of the ground may have been caused by a pipe that burst underground.
“We first reported at the Customer Care Centre in Katlehong and later went to Germiston. Officials have been coming here and even cordoned off the area with wired fence,” she said.
She said their local councillor put in a request for them to be moved from the area as it is unknown what might have caused the sinkhole.
Khanyisa said though she is not against moving out of the area, she fears her business may be affected.
“I have a business of looking after children and I sell sweets and snacks. At the same time I am worried my outside rooms may be demolished together with my house and we will only get an RDP house,” she said.
Khanyisa’s neighbour, Lona Matye (22), said they were scared to go to sleep.
“We fear the ground is moist underneath and the house might cave in. We don’t know what is going to happen next,” she said.
She said she couldn’t sleep as the sinkhole is metres away from her room.
“We don’t have a problem with moving, but we want the problem to be fixed because we don’t want to leave our houses and belongings,” she said.
City of Ekurhuleni spokesman, Zweli Damini, said: “We dispatched a team of professionals as soon as we became aware, who have gone there to do an investigation.
“We will look at their reports and a final decision can be taken. They must determine whether the ground can be rehabilitated or tell us how dangerous it is for residents so we can look into preventing a disaster by relocating them.”
