Residents of Andries Scribante Haven are fed up with the “poor” maintenance of the ageing council-owned centre for senior citizens in Cason Road, Boksburg CBD.
During a recent visit to the facility by the Advertiser, the elderly bemoaned what they described as unreasonable delays in repairing blocked drains and leaking pipes, as well as the general decay of the buildings and equipment.
They said residents in some flats, especially those on the ground floor, are forced to endure months of unbearable stench as raw sewage spills not only into the yards, but also bubbles back up inside their flats, with others forced to abandon their units due to this. However, it seems despite authorities being notified about the need for repairs and renovation, nothing has been done.
Metro aware of problems
The metro admitted it was made aware of some of the problems at the centre and stated once all procurement processes to appoint the contractor to fix the problem is approved, work will resume as soon as possible.
One of the affected residents, Charles Dewitz, said he and many other residents, especially those on the ground floor, fight an endless battle with blocked drains and damaged water and sewer pipes.
Run-down building
Nonetheless, residents still feel the metro has failed them as the facility has been in a run-down state for many years now.
“All these maintenance issues were reported to the centre management, including the caretaker, committee leaders and municipal officials, but nothing has changed. Instead, they keep on telling us they will look into the matter.
“There is a lack of maintenance culture which has contributed to the dilapidated condition of all the buildings and equipment here.
“Why do we as tenants have to run around trying to solve problems while the people who are getting paid are doing nothing? Tenants here are forced to spend their own money to patch broken pipes due to the lack of proper management and maintenance of the buildings.”
Another resident, Herla Greyling, said she had to spend her own money to get a leaking pipe in her flat patched recently.
“I had no choice but to do it myself after I waited for a very long time. My belongings and the floor were always saturated.
“What can we do? My sister, who lived next door, had the same problem and eventually, after waiting for it to be fixed, decided to move after having to battle water daily.
“It’s not nice. Council needs to improve their service delivery and look after their properties – after all, it’s their duty,” said Greyling.
Additional woes
Apart from these issues, residents also complained that there is a lack of Covid-19 compliance at the entrance to the property, putting senior citizens at high risk of contracting the virus. These include the provision of sanitiser and scanning of visitors.
Dewitz also pointed out that people face delays to move into their units after they have been allocated.
He, for example, claimed he was allocated his flat in September 2019, but he had to wait for more than 15 months before moving in as the metro was battling to do repairs, painting and installing new tiles.
“My son had to spend R70 000 on renting a place for me elsewhere while waiting for the metro to do the repairs.
“Even after waiting that long, I found the contractor delivered shoddy construction work because the tiles started to crack immediately after I moved in. It seems to me scrap tiles were used to do the job,” said Dewitz.
Budgetary constraints result in delays
Early this year, the Advertiser reported the building has been identified for an engineering conditional assessment and refurbishment programme for the 2021/22 financial year.
This came after a concerned community member, whose mother-in-law lives at the centre, demanded to know why officials were turning a blind eye to the crumbling walkways which pose a danger to the senior citizens.
This publication approached the metro for comment. Metro divisional head of communications and media relations Nhlanhla Cebekhulu acknowledged the City’s Department of Human Settlement had been made aware of the poor state of the facility.
However, when asked about the delays to fix the problems, Cebekhulu replied: “Requests for repairs and maintenance are attended to speedily; however, delays are encountered in the event of budgetary constraints.”
