Lack of maintenance prompts DA inspection at Silwerkroon

The DA Shadow MEC for Human Settlements, Mervyn Cirota MPL, and DA Gauteng spokesperson for Human Settlements Evert du Plessis MPL, inspected Silwerkroon on June 29.

The DA Shadow MEC for Social Development, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL, the Human Settlements Oversight Committee and a Ward 106 committee member joined them.

The residents’ concerns about a lack of maintenance, among issues, prompted their visit.

At least eight rooms stood empty because there was no funding for their painting and maintenance.

In addition, the DA stated Silwerkroon Old Age Home residents did not have their needs attended to, and last saw a social worker two years ago.

Tackling issues

Cirota reiterated that they visited the residence because of a complaint about the lack of maintenance.

“We are pleased by the general condition of the building. We were told the maintenance of the gardens is being done and paid for by members of the DA, which we are happy about, but that should be something paid for by the council. The issue we have a problem with is that there seems to be a problem with the infrastructure, particularly on the top floor, concerning the ceiling and the structure itself,” he explained.

He said the whole building could be affected if the issue was more serious than it appears.

“The building needs general maintenance and painting. There also seems to be a problem with these heat pumps. Apparently, most do not work. They also create a hindrance because when people get injured or have to go to a hospital, they can’t get to the residents,” Cirota said.

Escalating the grievances

“We will ask questions to determine how many of them [pumps] are working, what the waiting list is for residents, how many residents stay here and how the council’s budget is spent relating to this residence. “We will follow up with questions in the legislature and report back to these residents,” said Cirota.

Marge van Eck, a Silwerkroon resident, confirmed to the Alberton Record that there were at least eight unoccupied units.

“We haven’t had a social worker from the CoE come through for about two years, and there is a need for one. There is no such thing as maintenance, though we do have cleaners contracted through Ekurhuleni,” she said.

Haasbroek said the residence urgently needed to be maintained. She said the fire extinguisher was last serviced in 2016, and some units were empty for almost a year.

Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said: “The city notes that the seven vacant units at Silwerkroon Retirement Units require painting, and the contractor is on-site and completing work on these.

The units will be allocated according to tenants on the waiting lists on July 1. The last visit was in March, supported by several reports submitted in this regard. The Department of Social Development has ongoing visits.

When new tenants are allocated units, they collaborate with Human Settlements to assist tenants in performing assessments to determine the needs of all tenants.”