Durban – The Msunduzi Municipality has said a man, caught on video, wearing a blue overall and seen sweeping dirt into a stormwater drain on the side of a road was not one of its employees.
In a statement on Friday, the municipality said it was aware of the video that has been circulating on social media platforms where an employee is seen sweeping litter into a storm water drain.
“We wish to confirm that the person seen in the video is not an employee of Msunduzi,” said municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize.
Mkhize said municipality teams are hard at work to ensure that the city's stormwater drains and catch pits are cleaned and unblocked.
“Working together we can win the war against blockages of stormwater drains and sewer systems by taking part in keeping our our infrastructure and environments safe and clean,” she said.
Commenting on the statement on Msunduzi Municipality’s Facebook page, some residents said the video looked like it was taken in Gauteng while others said even if the video was taken elsewhere, they had witnessed similar incidents by city workers in Pietermaritzburg.
A resident said: “Don’t worry about the video, I’ve seen it happen in real life countless times in the CBD by other municipal workers.”
One woman said: “I have seen Msunduzi employees sweep dirt into the drains. It's the reason why there are so many floods. Look at the CBD when it rains. Lack of common sense.”
Another resident said: ”So he’s a Good Samaritan in appropriate gear just taking it upon himself to sweep PMB?”