Residents fight for maintenance

Residents at the Jeppe Jules flats are fighting for their homes and the safety of their families.

“We have families who have been living here for 30 to 35 years. This place is our home,” said Ms Moira Nel.

According to Ms Nel, the flats belong to the City of Joburg but have not been maintained for years.

There are a number of challenges that need to be attended to. The level of crime in the area is a problem.

“Criminals are able to come in as they please as the area is not properly secured. There have been a number of occasions where criminals have come into the complex to hide and police officers were unable to find them.

“We also signed a petition last year, requesting the proper closure of the complex and no assistance was received,” said Ms Nel.

Another problem the residents are facing is the billing system, as they don’t receive the correct billing statements.

“We don’t even receive the statements. We don’t even know how much we need to pay. The last time I received a water and lights statement was in 2000,” said Mrs Nel.

Ms Nel said residents requested the CoJ give them title deeds of the flats but have not received any response.

“We are not sure what is happening because when you try to fix something we are told we cannot do that because it is municipal property. There are people who have not had a warm bath in more than eight months because when they ask for assistance in getting the geyser fixed they receive no assistance. We end up using our own money to get things fixed because we are tired of the situation,” said Ms Nel.

The Jeppe Jules building is falling apart. Trees have not been cut, the grass is long and the exterior lights are not working.

“There are hazards everywhere for the children. There are live wires exposed because of no maintenance. Even the park equipment was removed and we don’t know why. We have asked and have not received any response. We requested for a tree branch to be cut. It was not done until it fell off and knocked over a light pole,” said Ms Nel.

“Another problem is what the residents refer to as the ‘bridge of death’ that connects Jules Street to John Page. The bridge promotes crime,” said Ms Nel.

“People get robbed and killed on the bridge when crossing. There is no light so you can’t even see who is standing at the end of the bridge and that is dangerous,” said Ms Nel.

“We have signed a petition requesting for the bridge to be closed. We still have not received any response regarding the matter” said Ms Nel.

Clr Bongani Nkwanyana and members of the residents’ committee from Jeppe Julius Park went to the Department of Housing to set an appointment for a visit to the flats.

“We went to the office to set-up an appointment with the relevant person and we ended up meeting with the Director of Housing, Mr Moabi. He had a meeting with us and committed to looking into the matter of Jeppe Julius Park,” said Clr Nkwanyana.

On March 10, a team from the Department of Housing was sent to visit the ‘bridge of death’ to establish whether Prasa or the CoJ is responsible for the bridge.

The EXPRESS also sent an inquiry to the City of Joburg ‘s Mr Nkosinathi Nkabinde on February 3 with a request for comment by February 4 at 9am.

At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.