At least 17 fire extinguishers have not been serviced in over four years in Silwerkroon, despite being supposed to be serviced every six months.
This is according to Ward 106 Clr Tim Denny, who slammed the city for several issues faced by residents (mostly pensioners) during his visit on September 20.
He said there are major and life-threatening risks that have not been addressed by the council for over five years.
“None of the fire extinguishers are valid; they have expired and don’t work. That is an accident waiting to happen, like it has happened in Johannesburg. The fire escape is so rotten and rusted, it shakes, and there are four stories. If there is a fire and you have all the folks running down the fire escape, it will collapse and you will have even more deaths. The fire escape itself is a hazard,” Denny explained.
Denny said there has not been any maintenance in Silwerkroon in over five years, adding that, “This is an accident waiting to happen”.
His sight visit comes a few months after DA dignitaries also conducted an oversight inspection at the residence.
“And there is no social worker here; who is their social worker? Every old age home that the municipality is in charge of, is supposed to have a social worker allocated to them. We’re informed there is no social worker, and a social worker hasn’t come here in years. And these questions which were brought forward by residents are actually in council,” he said.
Denny will address these concerns with the MMC for Health and Social Development and the MMC for Finance.
These issues are also on the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for Ward 106. Denny reiterated that it all boils down to budget issues, accountability and responsibility.
“The only answer we ever get is, ‘Sorry there’s no money – no electricians and no plumbers’.”
“The resident next door to me has got this problem with burning wires. Nothing is being done and it’s been almost a month,” explained resident Marge van Eck.
Ekurhuleni’s spokesperson Zweli Dlamini pointed out that though Denny has every right to highlight issues affecting residents, he needs to raise these issues with the city.
He said they will await a thorough complaint and the next course of action will then be determined thereafter.
“The last visit of a social worker was in March, which is supported by several reports which have been submitted in this regard. The Department of Social Development has ongoing visits and when new tenants are allocated units, they collaborate with Human Settlements to assist tenants in performing assessments to determine the needs of all tenants,” Dlamini said.
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