Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
Residents of Belvedere, in Tongaat, north of Durban, are disgruntled at the findings of a six-year-long inquiry into a pipeline burst that left thousands of people devastated.
On December 24 2001, a Petronet gas pipeline burst in the vicinity of Trubel and Belfrost primary schools and a number of houses and flats were destroyed.
Vehicles parked in a parking lot were damaged and more than 12000 people were affected.
A commission of inquiry was established to determine the causes and whether anyone was responsible.
After six years, a report was finally released on Friday. It was found that neither Petronet nor Sasol Gas were at fault.
Gabriel Ndabandaba, the provincial MEC for agriculture and environmental affairs, said: "It has been established that the construction company was negligent in that they failed to ensure that all reasonable and necessary investigations were undertaken."
But Michael Abrahams, a local councillor, said they would take the legal route to ensure that residents were compensated.
Victims of burst gas pipe seek redress
Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
Residents of Belvedere, in Tongaat, north of Durban, are disgruntled at the findings of a six-year-long inquiry into a pipeline burst that left thousands of people devastated.
On December 24 2001, a Petronet gas pipeline burst in the vicinity of Trubel and Belfrost primary schools and a number of houses and flats were destroyed.
Vehicles parked in a parking lot were damaged and more than 12000 people were affected.
A commission of inquiry was established to determine the causes and whether anyone was responsible.
After six years, a report was finally released on Friday. It was found that neither Petronet nor Sasol Gas were at fault.
Gabriel Ndabandaba, the provincial MEC for agriculture and environmental affairs, said: "It has been established that the construction company was negligent in that they failed to ensure that all reasonable and necessary investigations were undertaken."
But Michael Abrahams, a local councillor, said they would take the legal route to ensure that residents were compensated.