Eish! Motorist plunges into a ditch dug by Joburg Water

A Johannesburg driver found himself in a bit of a spot he couldn’t dig himself out of, after his car veered off the road and plunged into a ditch that had been dug by Johannesburg Water on Friday afternoon.

Joburg Water explained on Saturday morning: “Yesterday, we had a burst pipe which the team attended to in Melville, corner Judith Road and Beyers Naude Drive.” (Social cohesion advocate Yusuf Abramjee pointed out it was near to Westpark Cemetery.)

“Work was completed at 15H00,” said Joburg Water. “The trench was left barricaded with road signs, safety net and the sign saying keep left. Backfilling was scheduled after work was completed.”

But how long was that ditch going to be left there for?

Several local residents have taken to Twitter to share their own photos and messages about holes being dug by Johannesburg Water, and not filled immediately (including unattended and dangerous sinkholes). Gauteng residents say some excavations have been left so long, they’re now covered in weeds.

Morwasi A Phaahla A Modibedi was one of the few to only lay blame on the driver:

“The driver was either sleeping, speeding, on a phone, stressed, or drunk or combination thereof. Seeing that it’s a built-up or residential area where the speed limit is 60km or at most 80km. The place looks like its demarcated with some reflectors. Well @CityofJoburgZA may share the reasons.”

While nobody said the motorist was blameless, many still called for Joburg Water to become quicker and more efficient at filling the holes as they are accidents waiting to happen.

This is for real.
My friends were on the scene.Many months later @JHBWater have failed to repair and now a car drives in@CityofJoburgZA @OUTASA @_ArriveAlive @FatalMoves pic.twitter.com/gUQZVVmVmo

— DashcamGP-ZA ©️ (@Dashcampros) March 4, 2023

Twitter user Scott Gibson said: “Whilst this may have been the fault of the driver, you guys are the World Champions ? at digging holes and leaving them unattended.”

Petrol Pump Oracle, who are world famous for inspiring motorists with their daily chalkboard quotes, pointed out:

“This thing of having a team to come back and restore afterwards clearly isn’t working. The team that does the job should restore the area when the job is completed. There are hundreds of open holes all over the city… such a shame…”

Others were less polite. Matt said: “@JHBWater You know that’s a lie, you guys leave holes open all over Jhb, sometimes for months. I hope they sue the managers.” Failing JHB (our mayor is who??) said: “@JHBWater leaves ditches all across the city for months and months. Every motorist has suffered driving through some of your incomplete work. Even this repair is “scheduled”. Let us know when it is actually done.” Some guessed it would be next year sometime.

Eternity said: “@JHBWater You need to get a lot better with your cleanup afterwards, as it is shocking. You leave mountains of soil on blind corners for weeks – no signs. This may be an incident where the driver was at fault, but you create many hazards for weeks. Please do better at cleanup.”

Pray for South Africa❤?????❤ added: “Don’t get me started on ur so-called, ‘backfilling’. @CityofJoburgZA is besieged with holes, ur Teams don’t attend 2 ‘backfilling’.”

Adelle M. Mokaba asked sincerely:

“@JHBWater Why can’t a job be done and totally finished on the same day?!? You have people that work throughout the night so why can’t they carry on and finish the job?!?”

Melville, cnr Judith Road &
Beyers Naude Drive, Melville, JHB: @JHBWater dug a trench. They driver of this car ended inside- not far from Westpark Cemetery. 🙈 pic.twitter.com/mZbFV7fjGp

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) March 4, 2023