Johannesburg - City of Joburg manager Floyd Brink revealed that a report has been compiled to declare the Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) gas explosion a local state of disaster.
Yesterday, during his latest update, Brink said the cause of the explosion was still unknown as investigations were still ongoing.
“The investigations are still ongoing. We should be getting a report. We have sent some of our samples to the lab for testing, and we are waiting for the results so that we can start to narrow down and pinpoint exactly what the issue is,” Brink said.
Brink said it was difficult to ascertain the time it will take for officials at the scene and at the lab to come up with the answers to these investigations.
“It will be difficult to pinpoint exactly because we do not know what is happening underground.
“The team that will be meeting today — the technical officials and the experts — will be giving us a clearer indication of what it is that is underground and how long it will take,” he said.
On Monday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi echoed Brink’s sentiments and added that the province is considering opening an inquiry into the Joburg CBD gas explosion that killed one person and wounded more than 40 other people.
Lesufi was speaking during an interview with Sizwe Mpofu Walsh on Tuesday evening.
He said the city is still in the dark as to the real cause of the explosion.
He added that the incident has required him and the province to intervene as a similar explosion has happened in the city in the recent past.
Last week, Panyaza’s involvement in the matter was called into question by members of the city council, who accused him of “parachuting himself” into the matter.
“We have then asked our technical teams to go deeper and dig deeper.
“We have not found anything, and I am now on the verge of a proposal to order an independent committee to investigate because, on the basis of the information we have, we still do not know.
“The city has issued a statement saying that it might be gas. They have gone down to check old gas pipes,” he said.
He said that in the absence of concrete answers, more needs to be done to investigate the matter.
He said due to the importance of Lilian Ngoyi Street to traffic and the economy of the city, the restoration of the road has become a priority, and the sooner that is done, the better for everyone concerned. He said this could take at least three months.
“In terms of reopening the street, we are giving ourselves at least three months… We are working very hard to establish the facts, recover from the incident, and ensure that Lillian Ngoyi Street is reopened in the shortest possible period,” he said.
The Star