Bringing Bully back home grocotts.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from grocotts.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Calm before the storm. Makana Fire Services Manager William Welkom sips coffee before leaving home for another day of looking out for the safety of the municipality s residents. The born and bred Makhanda fire fighter this week celebrated 35 years of service. Photo: Sue Maclennan Landmark anniversary for local hero
This week, as Makana’s Fire Chief marks 35 years of service, GMDirect asks about his lifelong dedication to keeping his town safe.
“People remember the two houses that were burnt – but not the 40 houses and an entire school that were saved.”
There have been many serious fires in and around Makhanda but the 2015 fire was the worst the Makana Fire Services Manager has ever had to deal with. It was a nightmare.
Vandals broke into the Bothas Hill reservoir complex and destroyed the brick housing for a telemetry system crucial to Makhanda s water security. It costs R200K - worth less than R50 in the scrap metal for which it was probably harvested. Photos supplied Vandals destroy R250K water tracker
A case has been opened at Joza Police Station after vandals have destroyed a R250 000 telemetry system at Makhanda’s main supply reservoir. The discovery was made when water technicians went to reopen the supply to residents after a six-day water outage.
The water outage was caused by a blown gasket on a pump at James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works. The leaking pump flooded the pump station, leaving the town’s residents without water for six days. Technicians were brought from Joburg to commission a backup pump while the broken one went for repairs. The water supply was partly restored on Wednesday 24 February and is set to continue on alternate days until the town’s reservoirs ar
As Makhanda entered a week without water on Wednesday 24 February, the municipality said the electrical infrastructure used to monitor the reservoir levels at the Botha’s Hill reservoir had been vandalised overnight and this was preventing it from supplying water to at least part of the town.
Municipal workers found extensive damage at the Botha’s Hill reservoir in Makhanda when they went to open the water this morning. (Picture: Supplied)
The municipality said the damage to the reservoir fence, electric fence and telemetry system was discovered when workers went there to “open the water”.
But Gift of the Givers’ Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said he had heard that excuse too many times over the last two years.
Water trickles back just in time grocotts.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from grocotts.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.