Residents want Govan Mbeki Municipality to remove asbestos roofs
Mxolisi Mlata (66), said his asbestos house roofing is deteriorating. He claims he was diagnosed with TB, allegedly because of his house's asbestos roofing.
Residents of Ext 1 and 2 and the Mandela Section want the Govan Mbeki Municipality to fast-track the removal of the hazardous asbestos roofing in their houses.
Most of these homes were built before democracy’s emergence, with a smaller group being constructed following 1994.
These residents said asbestos is dangerous to their health and claim that some have already contracted respiratory deceases like tuberculosis.
They were overjoyed when municipal officials went to their houses and took down their details, with the promise of removing the asbestos roofing.
Mxolisi Mlata (66), said his asbestos house roofing is deteriorating. He claims he was diagnosed with TB, allegedly because of his house’s asbestos roofing.
“I am currently on TB treatment. I am a pensioner and do not have money to replace the asbestos sheets with metal sheets.
“My house leaks when it rains. Some neighbours helped me with a corrugated iron sheet to at least cover the area where the asbestos was damaged. It had a hole and I could see the sky.”
Mlata said the clinic doctor who diagnosed him with TB, asked about his living conditions and told him about the dangers of asbestos.
“All these years I didn’t know how dangerous asbestos is. Municipal officials came to my house earlier this year and promised to replace the asbestos roof with corrugated iron, but this has still not happened,” said Mlata.
In the meantime, the rain seeps through the cracks. Another resident, Phumzile Mahlangu, said the municipality has failed the community which suffered because of asbestos roofing that is hazardous to human health.
Mahlangu said it is difficult to live with an asbestos-roofed house because it is difficult to maintain.
“Hail damaged our house roof a year ago, and it is not like corrugated iron that you can easily close up because asbestos must be replaced. We don’t have a hardware store selling asbestos roofing materials in eMbalenhle, so we use plastic to cover the holes.
“We are still waiting for the municipality since they promised they will replace our asbestos roofs with corrugated ones,” said Mahlangu.
Donald Green, media liaison and content development officer, said the Asbestos Abatement Regulations of 2020 regulate removing asbestos.
Green said the municipality collected a database of such houses and submitted it to the national and provincial Department of Human Settlements that are rolling out a programme to replace asbestos materials.
“The data included pictures, recommendations and the quantity of the houses. A follow-up was sent to the Department of Human Settlements a few months ago to fast-track the programme rollout in the municipality,” said Green.
