The three houses in Frederick Cooper Drive, Kenmare which belongs to the National Department of Public Works remain in a total state of neglect.
Annette Fourie, a Democratic Alliance Ward Councillor, has for many years communicated with relevant departments but have been left in the dark about a solution from especially the Ministry of Public Works.
Three of the houses have been allocated to the South African Police Service for the use of their members and is currently occupied by one member and this property appears to be in a reasonable condition.
Fourie said the fourth house still remains the sole responsibility of Public Works and that it would appear that the process of regular inspection of these houses was not performed and is thus left unoccupied by the police and Public Works.
She started a long communication process at the Provincial offices of the Public Works, then with Colonel Maduna at the Police Head Quarters in Johannesburg and have directed direct questions to Thulas Nxesi, Minister of Public Works.
“After all these efforts the answer remains the same that there is no money available and there is a long list of properties requiring repairs. As there is a moratorium on the sale of State owned properties, this option has not been considered by the authorities,” Fouries said.
She said the badly damaged and vandalized houses were inspected some time ago by a structural engineer and that a request was then forwarded to members of the Portfolio in Parliament for discussion, with proposals to the Minister in an attempt to get the required repairs done.
“In the meantime the houses remain a security, health, fire hazard and an unsightly dumping site, not conducive to the area.”
A petition signed by various residents has been prepared together with photos and the entire history of the problem and will be forwarded to the Public Protector soon – one that is expected not to be a quick solution.
“A Request to our local Environmental Health for investigation may be another option; they however have no jurisdiction over these properties and can at best only make a recommendation,” Fourie added.
“What a bad example from our Government. Numerous state owned properties have fallen into disrepair throughout the country, but the upgrading to already luxurious mansions for senior officials in government is and remains the priority. Repairing and maintaining these houses in a habitable condition can only be an asset to the State.”
Do you have more information to share? Send your information to us via email at [email protected] or give us a call on 011 955 1130.
For your daily free community news, visit Caxton West Rand’s websites:
• Roodepoort Record
• Randfontein Herald
• Get It Joburg West Magazine
Also, visit us on Facebook and Twitter.
You can also leave your opinion in the commentary box provided below.
