Daily Sun (June 18 2013) - THE water from burst pipes is running down the streets, blocked drains are flooding the houses . . . and the beer is flowing at the local tavern. That's because the municipal workers have decided they they'll take care of the drains and the water leaks later. FOR NOW . . . THEY DRINK!

It's 10am on Friday morning and a tavern in Sharpeville is doing good business as workers from the Emfuleni municipality's water division in the Vaal, Metsi-a-Lekoa, have parked their two trucks in front of the tavern to allow the workers to enjoy a few beers. The SunTeam watched from a car parked a safe distance away as more than 10 workers dressed in blue marked overalls and work boots, with bottles and cans in their hands, walked back and forth to the parked vehicles, probably to make sure that the drivers didn't go thirsty.

The SunTeam kept an eye on the tavern until about 1pm when the drivers eventually piled into the trucks and drove off. Hopefully they were going to do some much needed maintenance work - but it's safe to say the staggering worker who had to be helped across the road and into the truck wouldn't be much use to fix a smelly, blocked drain.

A resident in the area told the People's Paper the workers regularly take a booze break at the tavern. "This is disrespectful," he said. "Many residents need municipal services while council employees are getting drunk instead. "It's a shame." ...

See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....

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