EDITOR – With reference to Mr Van Zyl’s letter in the Berea Mail of 13 February 2015.
I totally agree with Mr van Zyl that the Housing Department leaves a lot to be desired. I have discussed these exact same matters with a housing representative and the caretaker several times in the past months. I was told by the housing representative months ago that they are working on it, and the caretaker told me that it would be dealt with. All to no avail.
Allow me to explain. The tree and shrubs next to the fences were cut down as a security measure. So the cuttings from the trees are the issue, not a tree/s as per the housing representative. Furthermore, there are only 12 small black dirt bins supplied for 30 or more flats. This is inadequate, and one of the reasons why the rubbish is everywhere. The refuse is only cleared once a week, that is another issue that was raised with the Housing Department with absolutely no results. Bigger and better rubbish bins are needed to accommodate the amount of refuse generated by 30-plus flats. The flies and other insects are overwhelming.
Sadly there are some tenants who do not use the bins, and who litter and leave their broken furniture everywhere. Those are the people that should be educated; however, it is sad that humans do not know how to behave and live in a civilised manner.
The time switch to our lights on the stairs is totally dysfunctional. I have asked so many times, and the housing representative tells me it is due to load shedding that this switch dysfunctions. We have lights in the day but at night the stairs are in total darkness. None of the other buildings have this problem, only our section of the building. The housing representative also used the example that any alarms would have to be reset on the property after load shedding. We all know that is nonsense.
I have tried for months to explain the problem, but sadly the ability to comprehend in the Housing Department is just not there.
I have also, like Mr van Zyl, been living in this flat for 24 years, and even after the paint was damaged due to a neighbour upstairs flooding their flat and the water seeping through to my flat, having my flat repainted was refused.
Kenneth Gardens used to be an elite complex to live in years ago. Sadly it has been turned into a slum that harbours drug dealers and users and criminals.
Why do the housing authorities not own the responsibility of the conditions of the flats and the quality of tenants that live in the flats? After all, we pay to live there.
Maria
Umbilo
