The promised sinkhole task team was supposed to be launched by the end of June 2025; to date, it has not been established. This is despite sinkholes continuing to emerge across the province with no proper plan in place from the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
Motorists’ lives are in danger and are forced to use alternate routes, which are costly and time-consuming, to avoid sinkhole risks. The residents living in sinkhole areas struggle to sell their properties. Currently, it takes the department up to six months to produce a report on a sinkhole.
Gauteng is vulnerable to sinkholes because it is made up of 35% dolomite, making the land in the area a disaster waiting to happen. The risk of sinkholes appearing is increasing because water infrastructure has to be fixed. In one instance in Centurion, a sinkhole appeared soon after Rand Water completed much-needed maintenance.
Gauteng residents who reside in dolomitic areas live in constant fear of losing their properties to the caving ground. The sinkhole problem is further exacerbated by illegal mining. Across the province, illegal mining has mushroomed. In Zamimpilo informal settlement, located in Riverlea, a ticking time bomb sits where three major gas and water pipelines run.
One does not need to look far to see the effects of a road that has gas and water lines running through it. Two years ago, Lillian Ngoyi Street in the Johannesburg CBD exploded, leaving residents without electricity and water for weeks.
The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is aware of the problem. In a presentation made to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), it indicated that Tshwane has 63 sinkholes. Since then, two more have formed. Yet, COGTA and the Department of Roads and Transport still do not recognise sinkholes as a provincial disaster.
This may be due to the province claiming awareness of only six sinkholes on provincial roads. However, the problem extends far beyond provincial roads. The department itself admits that it must work with municipalities across Gauteng to address the leaks that are causing these massive swallowing holes.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng demands that the sinkhole task team be established immediately to tackle this growing crisis.
A DA-led Gauteng provincial government would immediately assess all roads that are vulnerable to sinkholes. We will immediately fix the sinkholes that have already formed.