Housing complex deteriorates further

“I cannot even have people over to visit because of the shambolic state of the place I call home,” said Ms Moira Nel, a resident of the Julius Jeppe Housing Complex.

The housing complex, situated on the corner of Jules and Hannau streets in Jeppestown, is in a state of neglect.

Ms Nel has lived at the complex for 22 years and has never seen it in such a poor state. “There is no maintenance that happens here, absolutely nothing,” said Ms Nel, as she pointed out the grass and weeds growing on the pavement.

The road that leads into the complex is riddled with potholes and there was no security at the gate. Residents say there is no lighting at night, which poses a danger to them.

These are some of the issues that Clr Victor Penning has been trying to resolve for years, without any luck.

“How can one expect people to live in these disgraceful conditions?” asked Clr Penning.

He said people pay for services and should get value for their money. Outside the home of one of the residents, there was water pooled in front of the front door.

“I was told that for the water to be removed, the tree in front of the house would have to be removed as the pipe runs under it,” said the resident who wished to remain anonymous. The wall around the complex has holes where criminals can gain entry.

“We want our children to be safe; we had an incident some years ago when a child went missing and was found dead,” said Ms Nel. She expressed her concern about the state of the park in the complex.

“The children play on broken swings that can injure them. How do you explain to a child that they cannot play there?” asked Ms Nel. The bins at the complex go missing and residents are expected to replace them. Some of the drains are blocked, creating a potential health hazard.

“We used to have people who would come and clean. I’m wondering what happened to them as our country has a problem with unemployment, so why not hire people to do the job?” asked Ms Nel.

Ms Dudu Lushaba and Ms Thembelihle Radebe, from the City of Johannesburg were contacted, but no comment was received at the time of going to print.