The rich history of our town is reflected in the few buildings of historical importance found within it. About two weeks ago, a photo of the old Court House and Magistrate’s Office of Estcourt in Louise Street was published in the Estcourt News.

A local resident feels that if the photographer had taken the photo from a different angle, the photo would have displayed an ‘eyesore’, which has been present for years. The resident is concerned about the cobbled pavement outside the building.

He added that this is unfortunate and he doesn’t quite understand why the paving was lifted; then poorly replaced. Among his other concerns is the heap of rubble blocking the lower gate of the building and further up the road, a large chunk of tar has been removed and left on the side.

According to the resident it has been this way for the past five years. “It was nice to see the photo of the historic Court House, but is the municipality incapable of doing any one job to completion? Why are municipal workers so lazy and inefficient? Is no one capable of effectively monitoring the labourers or are they themselves just as lazy? I hate paying my rates and then seeing it squandered like this,” said the concerned resident firmly.

Umtshezi’s Acting Municipal Manager Elphas Dladla confirmed that some work was done in line with the available budget.

“The building in question is a historic building, which falls under Amafa. It is classified as those buildings, which are over 50-years-old and no major structural changes except facelift (painting) and repairs can be made to the building. We were guided by the Heritage Society on what changes could be made, therefore this building was revamped with minor repairs. Completion of the works will be finalised once the funding becomes available,” explained Mr Dladla.