A Tsutsumani resident whose house has roof damage, caused by a fallen geyser in December last year, is still waiting for a new one to be installed.
The plight of Nomonde Motaung of Eastern Kenya Street was reported in this paper’s Family in fear of loose geyser on 12 December. She said when council removed the fallen geyser, they covered the damaged area with more roofing, but have not returned to replace it and fix the damage. “Without the geyser, I am worried about the high electricity bill I will incur from boiling water daily for my family to bath. When they [council] collected the geyser, my understanding was they would replace it quickly, but no one has called or come,” she said.
Motaung said she also expected council to repair the broken roof and ceiling which was affected by water from the geyser and rain. “The water also affected the interior wall, floor tiling and parts of my furniture.” She said local councillors William Chuene and Joyce Ngwenya assisted to get City Power to act, but this should have included re-installing the geyser, repairing the roof and the ceiling.
City Power’s agency Tasol said they did remove the geyser, but could not bear the costs for its replacement as the supporting wall structure had been altered when Motaung extended the house. “We can only consider re-installing a new geyser and do other related work if she produced a compliance certificate on the housing structure from engineers to ensure our indemnity,” said Tasol’s Riaan Swanepoel. He added that they had advised Motaung accordingly as they have done in similar incidents elsewhere.
