Child drowns in contractor hole

The rural community of Craigieburn Farm are angry after a one-year-old child drowned in an unsecured watery hole.

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Durban - The rural community of Craigieburn Farm near Mooi River are angry after a one-year-old child drowned in a watery hole, which had been dug as part of an electrification project and left unsecured for more than two months.

Awande Bhengu, who fell into the hole head first, was laid to rest on Sunday, with the costs of the funeral met by the Mooi Mpofana Local Municipality.

The little boy had been playing with two other children near the hole – said to be between half and one metre deep – last Tuesday.

The project had been left incomplete by Victor Mashiyane, who said he had been sub-contracted by Mjazi Engineering and Construction, a company which was awarded a R6 million tender to install electricity in 300 homes on the farm.

The project, which started last year and was set to be completed by next month, was funded by the Energy Department through the municipality.

Mashiyane confirmed his company had dug holes for electric poles in August and had not been on the site since.

Councillor for the area, Sandiswa Ndumo, said the project had been marred by difficulties since its inception.

Ndumo, also the chairman of the municipality’s technical services portfolio committee, said: “Two months ago I received complaints about the slow pace of progress with the project. I have raised peoples’ concerns at council meetings but nothing has been done.

“I have called meetings to address the issue but the director of technical services always finds excuses to avoid the meetings.

“As (the) person with an oversight role over the (technical services) department, I don’t know the company or its owners. I understand that they stopped working because they expected to be paid every month,” Ndumo said.

He said he doubted that proper processes were followed when the tender was awarded.

“In a portfolio committee meeting on Monday we resolved to get the municipal consultant to come before the full council to explain how this company was appointed without checking if it has financial muscle and adequate tools of trade. From what I heard, although not official, there is an expectation from one of the companies involved to be paid monthly and that’s not how things are done at municipalities. You get paid for every certificate of service provided,” he said.

Mashiyane confirmed he was subcontracted for the project but said his company had left the site after it had not received payment.

“My men were not paid in August, and these are fathers who work for their children. That’s why they left.

“As for the municipality, I don’t have dealings with them. I invoice the main contractor, not the municipality. The hole, it is 500mm so it needs to be investigated how the child could have drowned in it. If there was rain, the soil next to the hole would have eroded into the hole,” he said.

The Daily News contacted the owner of Mjazi, but he refused to identify himself and declined to comment.

“I won’t discuss this with the media. Contact the municipality for comment,” said the man.

Mooi Mpofana Mayor Maureen Magubane said the community was angry at the death of the child.

She said numerous attempts to meet the company had proved fruitless.

“Even now I don’t know who they are or how they got appointed. This needs urgent attention by the council before it gets out of hand,” she said.

Bheki Bhengu, Awande’s uncle, said the children were playing when tragedy struck.

“Their mothers were working behind the houses. We found him with his legs protruding from the hole, his head submerged in the water.

“These holes were left by a company contracted to the municipality to install electricity in our homes. It’s been two months since the company left without securing the holes. We buried the boy on Sunday with the assistance of the municipality,” Bhengu said.

Magubane said they were informed about the incident, but would not provide detailed information about the contractor and the tender processes followed.

“I’m told that the company has been paid for the work but for some reason they have left the site. I don’t know why,” she said.

Stedd Zamisa, director of technical services at the municipality, denied claims there had been problems with the project.

“All is running well and I don’t know anything about public concerns. The child’s death was an accident which could have happened to anyone,” he said.

Zamisa refused to comment further on the project, referring the Daily News to the municipal manager, Max Moyo.

Moyo’s phone has been on voicemail since the Daily News first contacted him last week.

In September last year, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube put the municipality under administration after it was destabilised by service delivery protests.

Daily News

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