It has come to Mogale City Local Municipality’s attention that missing and dislodged manhole covers; grids and water covers found in our roads, sidewalks, parks and other areas lead to serious car accidents, personal injuries and possible insurance claims.
This comes amid the rising theft of manhole covers, water meter covers and storm water grids, and metal frames in the Krugersdorp Central Business District (CBD) and other areas.
According to Mogale City’s Infrastructure Services department, thousands of cast iron manhole covers and similar structures and sold as scrap metals on the black market every year throughout South Africa, resulting in several serious economic and/or public safety issues.
While open manholes can pose a dangerous threat to pedestrians and vehicles, infrastructure like trains and electricity supply can be severely disrupted when cable thieves have access to underground cabling.
The department further stated that manholes do not only belong to the municipality, numerous other entities such as Eskom, Telkom, Neotel, Vodacom etc. also make use of manholes for underground networks but they also suffer the same fate.
Theft of manhole covers, grids, frames and hydrant boxes is a regular occurrence in the Krugersdorp CBD and surrounding areas and has cost the municipality over R50 000 from January to date in replacement costs alone. Cast iron manhole covers can fetch up to R500 when sold off as scrap metal.
Traditionally, these manhole covers and other infrastructure were made of cast iron. New innovations in material design resulted in the development of alternative products such as concrete, polymer concrete or polymer (high strength plastic) which are light and strong enough to be used for the same purpose. Polymer concrete for example, is a finely tweaked and carefully perfected special mixture of silica sand, chopped fibres and organic polymer resins, used to cast manhole covers that are strong and durable.
“A good number of manhole covers, water meter covers, metal frames of storm water drains etc. are stolen on a regular basis in and around Krugersdorp and obviously thieves will leave the holes open. When disturbed in the process of stealing, thieves leave covers lying right in the middle of the road, posing danger to both pedestrians and motorists,” the Department of Infrastructure Services said in a statement.
“We are pleading with all communities of Mogale City to be vigilant and assist us and the South African Police Service to report this illegal act. The municipality is in the process of replacing stolen and vandalised infrastructure with the mentioned alternative products, which have very little resale value, in an effort to discourage further vandalism”.