It was touch-and-go today, October 25, or the Mpumalanga High Court and all staff of other Department of Justice (DoJ) divisions housed there, would have been evacuated from the building.

This follows a surprise inspection, which was done on Wednesday, October 23, after complaints about the unhealthy working conditions there had been reported to the department. During the inspections, the various courtrooms, as well as the judges’ chambers and the judge president’s office, was inspected.

After the first day of the inspection, during which one of the floors were put under the spotlight of the inspectors, it was established that the working conditions are so dire that an immediate order was issued to evacuate that floor of the building.

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The Department of Labour found that the building does not comply with the regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993.

Some of the problems uncovered during the inspection include broken toilets, broken windows, nonfunctional lights, safety gates that were locked, steel reinforcement sticking out of some structures and lifts not working.

One of the more serious discoveries, which shone the spotlight on the approval of the building’s design before construction started, is that there are numerous offices with no windows at all. According to the labour law, all staff and offices must have access to fresh, circulating air.

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It was also found, even though it is a modern structure, that there is no ramp for people living with disabilities to use.

Of the five urinals in one of the men’s bathrooms, four are out of order. The only usable one, is leaking so badly that litres and litres of water are being wasted. The inspectors found the leak have not been dealt with in two years.

Lowvelder understands an emergency meeting was held yesterday afternoon, October 24, with the senior management of all the departments. They were told in no uncertain terms that the building must be evacuated without delay. Apparently, a follow-up meeting was held between the Department of Labour and the head of the DoJ, which is situated in the seemingly dilapidated building, at which the eviction notice would have been handed over.

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Lowvelder have reliably established it was then agreed the prohibition notice would not be issued on the condition that the building must be renovated and repaired within three months.

The DoJ has not responded to any enquiries by the time of publishing. An update will be published as soon as more information is made available.