MEC gets his feet wet at Kasi Beach – after Scrolla raises the alarm

Everson Luhanga

After seeing the pictures of locals bathing in their swimming costumes around Evaton West’s water-filled potholes, Gauteng’s MEC for Public Transport, Roads and Infrastructure couldn’t wait another day before paying them a visit.

Upon seeing the makeshift swimming pools, Jacob Mamabolo admitted that the potholes were big but said his department was not aware of them until he received a call from Scrolla.Africa on Monday.

The MEC said that the local government will prioritise repairing them. 

He said there will be a team of technicians and construction workers deployed to the area on Wednesday to assess the situation before deciding upon a date to start fixing them.

For over four years, residents of Evaton West in Mkhelele extension 11 Ward 26 in the Vaal say that the local potholes have been getting bigger, wider and deeper every year.

Resident Zanele Zikalala said she has seen the potholes becoming more of a problem as she used to drive over them when she stayed in ekasi. 

“It is amazing that the government can only hear our concerns when the matter is in the media,” she said.

“We have been asking for help for many years but barely a day after our service delivery issues were highlighted in the media space, everyone in the government is here to help.”

Mamabolo said the potholes in Evaton gained attraction from the public because images of people using them as swimming pools have gone viral. 

Community members in the area were pictured cooling themselves in one of the pothole’s muddy waters.

Some even put their swimsuits on, while others dipped their feet into the water while relaxing in deck chairs and sipped drinks from their cooler boxes.

The potholes appear to be so deep that the water covered the bodies of the children and some of the adults who swam in it.

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