RECORD has been reporting on Silwerkroon flats for the elderly that has been without a working lift since June this year.
Read: The elderly still forced to brave the stairs
Many businesses and private individuals have offered to fix the lifts and even do maintenance for a whole year, free of charge, but the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) have not been willing to accept any of these offers and instead opted for replacing the lift at the tax-payer’s expense, leaving residents in the lurch in the meanwhile.
Read: No relief for stranded Silwerkroon residents
With nine municipal buildings in need of new lifts, EMM said work will be completed by the end of the year. It is not clear exactly when in December. The elderly in Silwerkroon will not have to brave the stairs anymore.
Themba Gadebe, EMM spokesperson had this to say:
“The city will commence with the installation of new lifts in nine municipal buildings by the end of November this year. This comes after LTE Civil and Structural Consultants assessed the buildings in August and confirmed that the lifts ought to be replaced.
“The decision follows a lengthy process that went through the Bid Specification Committee (BSC) process to approve the lift specification and utilisation of the Enterprise Programme Management Office (EPMO) contractors for installation of new lifts.
“The BSC item served on October 20 and once approved, EPMO will be contacted to request proposals from their panel of contractors which is expected to take approximately 14 days.
Also Read: Ward councillor on problems at Silwerkroon
“The city’s real estate department has been servicing the lifts. Engineers were sent to Silwerkroon to assess the lift and Schindler was approached for a quotation to fix the lift. This quotation was submitted. Once the instruction to perform work has been signed the contractor will proceed to site.”
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