{"id":175619,"date":"2018-03-27T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/175619\/residents-urged-to-relocate-due-to-sinkhole\/"},"modified":"2018-03-27T14:56:18","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T12:56:18","slug":"residents-urged-to-relocate-due-to-sinkhole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2018\/03\/27\/residents-urged-to-relocate-due-to-sinkhole\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents urged to relocate due to sinkhole"},"content":{"rendered":"

Residents from Makause have been living in a state of fear since Monday, when they woke up to a deep hole right in front of their front doors near the Khumbul\u2019ekhaya entrance, just off Stanley Road.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Monday we noticed this hole, and it has been growing wider and it looks deep.<\/p>

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\u201cWe\u2019ve had restless nights and days.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy neighbour has a hole in her house, and we all fear that we\u2019ll sink into the ground as this hole gets bigger,\u201d said Thakasile Mathe, one of the affected residents.<\/p>

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\u201cThe previous leadership allowed for people to build houses in this area knowing that previous occupants of this land were relocated to an area in Tsakane, because the whole of Makause is part of a mining belt,\u201d said Jomo Ngwenya, the chairperson for Makause Settlement.<\/p>\n

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A hole identified as a sinkhole in Makause Settlement on Friday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ALSO READ: Heavy rains cause \u2018sinkhole\u2019 in Makause<\/a><\/h4>\n

Ward councillor Frans Ngomane assured residents that he would find a place of safety for them and they would not spend the night in the area as it has been deemed unsafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will ensure that I find an alternative location for the affected people by the end of the day today, because I feel it is unsafe for them to still be in such a hazardous area,\u201d said Ngomane last Friday.<\/p>\n

The structures of the homes around the hole have shifted, and the affected residents would gladly relocate, but the only question is, where will they go?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been asked to relocate, but where will we go?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are pleading with the municipality to help us but we just need to know where we will be moving to,\u201d said Mathe.<\/p>\n

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Clr Frans Ngomane with Makause residents, Thakasile Mathe, Fikile Gumede, Sisanda Mgandela and Neliswe Mtshali, together with Phillip Makhubele who’s a part of the ward community for ward 21 as well as Jomo Ngwenya(back) the chairperson for Makause Settlement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ALSO READ:\u00a0Weather Watch \u2013 Severe thunderstorm a possibility for Gauteng<\/a><\/h4>\n

When the GCN spoke to William Ntladi, the district manager media liaison for Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) early on Friday morning, he said, \u201cSix shacks situated near the hole were mildly affected by the shift and residents of those shacks refused to be relocated to a place of safety yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we have organised a team from the department who will speak to the residents and explain the importance of the move to them.\u201d<\/p>\n