Mpumalanga High Court partially reopens, but questions remain unanswered

Some parts of the Mpumalanga High Court complex, which were locked down due to non-compliance with the Health and Safety Act 85 of 1992, were reopened on Monday morning.

The Department of Labour (DoL) issued a prohibition order to the Department of Justice (DoJ) to evacuate the building after the complex failed an inspection on Wednesday, October 30.

In addition to not having a legal occupation certificate to use the buildings, broken lifts, electrical problems due to water seeping into the electrical network, rotten carpets, part of the ceiling falling down and problems with the air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC) systems were flagged.

The waterproofing on the roof has all but disintegrated and pools of water were found under the waterproofing membrane.

On Sunday, an urgent meeting was held between all stakeholders, including the Independent Development Trust. During the meeting, the DoJ submitted urgent steps to rectify some of the crisis areas.

Urgent intervention actions by the DoJ were done, among others to repair and service the HVAC systems and calling in electrical specialists to isolate dangerous electrical power points and light fittings. Work to address the plumbing problems and the severely leaking roof will go out on an urgent tender.

After an inspection done by the DoL, City of Mbombela municipal officers, an independent engineer and representatives of the Public Servants Association on Sunday, it was agreed that certain offices could be occupied.

One of the most serious problems the DoJ had was the closure of all the courtrooms in the complex. After being evicted, the DoJ tried to find a large enough building to temporarily move the court sittings to. A suitable building could not be found. Three of the 12 courtrooms were declared safe for use on Sunday.

Staff from the Office of the Registrar of the High Court, where most of the administrative work for court cases is done, are still unable to resume occupation. The DoL, however, granted permission for the staff of this office to have access to these offices for an hour a day to access the files needed.

An agreement was also reached that all the repair and maintenance work would be completed by December 13.

During Lowvelder’s ongoing investigation into problems at the court complex, fundamental questions were raised about who owns the building and who is responsible for its maintenance.

Questions sent to the minister of public works and infrastructure, Dean MacPherson, as well as to the City of Mbombela, remained unanswered by the time of publishing.