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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for an Urgent Special Council Meeting of Sol Plaatje municipality in relation to the devastation being sowed on Kimberley by fibre company Frogfoot. This comes amidst growing frustrations by city residents with regards to the daily excavation of roads and pavements for the erection of poorly placed poles. All of this, amidst ongoing uncertainty as to where the actual authorisation for this development has come from.

Despite local residents having complained about the fibre company for months already, and the DA having asked questions in relation to the work being done by the fibre company on numerous occasions, as well as having approached the Mayor, the acting Municipal Manager and an acting engineer, Sol Plaatje continues to plead ignorance in respect of the project

In the meantime, the already dilapidated state of Kimberley is declining even further. Tar is being dug up, paving stones are removed, and unsightly tar poles are erected in front of more and more houses, on a daily basis. Kimberley is, in turn, in an even greater mess than it was before, with many residents being left to replant their own grass and renovate their newly broken pavements.

In some instances, the poles have been placed on the pavements of properties that have been declared as heritage sites, without any permission from the necessary historical society. In some instances, the poles have pulled skew as a result of the wires, making them unsightly and affecting people’s properties. They are even a safety risks in some instances, as they have been placed so close to walls, they make it easy for criminals to scale over into people’s yards.

The DA is demanding that Sol Plaatje municipality, and the acting Municipal Manager Mr Boy Dhluwayo, must come clear on where the authorisation for the Frogfoot project lies. It cannot be that a municipality, that claims to know nothing about this company, simply sits by and watches as the company turns the city into a massive construction site, regularly piercing cables and water pipes, as it goes ahead. This is something that Kimberley, which already has countless water issues and resultant water shutdowns, can ill afford.

We need to know what agreements and even tenders were entered into - this matter simply cannot remain shrouded in secrecy. At the same time, someone must take responsibility for the fibre development in Kimberley, so that clear guidelines can be enforced and so that the company can be held liable when it doesn’t comply. The company can also be required to hire a subcontractor to do patch and repair work as it moves along, or further be required to put down a retainer to ensure that funds are available for repairing the damages incurred by the company. This is essential, as the ailing Sol Plaatje municipality will never have the capacity and the resources to patch up the newly dug craters, in addition to the already hundreds of potholes in the city.

If the DA does not get crystal clear answers from Sol Plaatje at a soon to be scheduled Special Council Meeting, we are going to be left with no choice but to ask that this project be shut down or even to pursue legal. This is not ideal, as fibre is in itself is a good thing and is undoubtedly needed to bridge the digital divide between the Northern Cape and other more developed provinces. We cannot, however, tolerate a situation that sees the city of the big hole becomes the city of many holes, under a veil of mystery.

Issued by The DA