Residents living close to the Klipspruit River in Eldorado Park are forced to live in homes that are flooded when it rains heavily during the summer. Motorists who use the N12 Old Potchefstroom Roadare unable to use the road because the river overflows when it rains heavily and causes the road to flood.
This is despite the national government releasing disaster relief funds meant to clear out the reeds that have overtaken this river and blocked the flow of water.
During a recent oversight inspection at the N12 road, the Democratic Alliance (DA) discovered that silt levels in the river are high and the reeds have not been cleared. Instead of removing the weeds and reeds that cause the narrowing of the river, embankments have been formed, which is making the problem worse.
With the recent heavy rains, residents’ homes were flooded, and people living in the Eldorado Park cemetery had to be rescued by helicopter. Graves have also been damaged and have not been fully repaired.
See the video here.
See photos here, here, here and here.
Furthermore, illegal dumping is taking place along the river, and the sewage is flowing from the pumping station into the river.
It is unacceptable that our residents are subjected to having their homes flooded and motorists are forced to find an alternative route when they need to travel to the North West every year during the rainy season.
The DA will be tabling questions to the MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, to determine what happened to the disaster relief funds allocated to alleviate the problem of the N12 being flooded.
The DA will also be tabling questions to the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mbali Hlophe, to determine whether there are measures in place to clear the river of the reeds and curb the illegal dumping and the raw sewage that is flowing from the pumping station into the river.