Fibre cement reinforced with newspaper revealed itself inside the construction of a stormwater inlet in Vredekloof when a City of Cape Town sewage truck accidently drove over it.
Manager of the Vredekloof City Improvement District (CID) Leon Brynard was dismayed to see this.
“This workmanship leaves much to be desired as do the materials used by City contractors. The problem is that there is no control or supervision over the work contractors or even officials do in the suburbs.
“It reminds me of the street names of curbsides that fade so quickly. Its not that the best paint is not being used as I have been assured by the City, but rather that it is perhaps watered down,” says Brynard. The City responded saying that most of the stormwater inlet covers in the city are built with a fibre cement.
“It should be noted that the covers of most of the residential catch pits and manholes are replaced with a fibre cement and or polymer cover due to continuous theft of ferrous type of covers. The City always replaces the stolen or damaged non-ferrous covers, if reported. We ask that residents please contact the City should any covers in their area need replacing by calling the toll free 24 hour Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63,” says a City spokesperson.
He added that the City has 22 345 stormwater inlets in the region.
