Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
7 March 2025 | 13:30 CAT
3 min read

ActionSA has expressed deep concern over the growing sinkhole crisis in Ward 8, Khutsong, urging the Gauteng Provincial Government to take immediate action before lives are lost. The party highlighted the dire situation after conducting a Listening Tour in the area to hear directly from affected residents.

ActionSA Gauteng leader Funzi Ngobeni told Radio Islam that the Listening Tour was initiated to engage with communities and better understand their most pressing concerns. “We introduced Listening Tours late last year as members of parliament in the legislature. There are only three of us representing ActionSA, so we decided that we need to go and listen to our residents and our voters to hear exactly what it is that they want us to champion on their behalf in the legislature,” Ngobeni said.

He explained that many residents never expected the sinkholes to spread to their area. They initially thought the problem was confined to certain sections, but now they are seeing the ground collapsing near their houses. They are anxious and desperate for answers from local authorities, wanting to know if they will be relocated to safer areas or if measures will be taken to protect their homes.

Residents also pointed out that a school near their community had to be shut down and demolished due to a sinkhole, and they now fear for their own homes.

Ngobeni emphasised that provincial authorities are well aware of the crisis but have failed to act decisively. “It is not like politicians are not aware. It is not like the provincial government is not aware. They are aware that there are cases like this across the area that need to be attended to,” he said.

He recalled that Premier Panyaza Lesufi had spoken about the issue in both his 2023 and 2024 addresses, yet little progress has been made. “The only thing that happened is that R5 million was given to the municipality to work on one of the sinkholes, but when we did oversight, the communities told us that the project is incomplete and the contractor has left the site. It is really a mess,” he said.

ActionSA is now pushing for Khutsong to be declared a disaster area to unlock emergency relief funding at both provincial and national levels. “We are writing to the Premier and asking whether he has considered declaring Khutsong a disaster area because it is not just one sinkhole, it is multiple ones across the area,” he stated.

If no urgent action is taken, Ngobeni said the party would escalate the issue in the legislature through verbal and written questions. They plan to highlight this when engaging with other members of the legislature in the house.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and ActionSA Gauteng leader Funzi Ngobeni, here.