‘Good Samaritan’ thanked for lift repair
After at least 13 months of climbing three flights of stairs, the elderly residents of Deneys Conradie Residentia can breathe a sigh of relief, as one of the lifts was repaired last week.
The council-owned block of flat in Western Extension is one of several in Benoni, whose lifts have been non-operational for most of last year, while the lifts at some flats in Actonville have reportedly been out of order for the better part of several decades.
Annatjie Pieters was ecstatic about the prospect of not having to climb up and down stairs again.
The 74-year-old resident lives on the third and highest floor of Deneys Conradie and has to go out daily, but had trouble with the lifts not working for more than a year.
She walks with a crutch and enlarged sole as she has no hip in her left leg and has had a hip replacement in the other.
“I am so glad and, from the bottom of my heart, just want to thank the good Samaritans who fixed the lift for us,” Pieters said.
Jeanette Wartington (75) has lived in Deneys Conradie for almost 17 years and became emotional as she explained how grateful she is about the repair of the lifts.
“My daughter had to carry my groceries up for me before, now I can just use the lift; I praise God for intervening here and helping us,” said Wartington.
Wartington’s son-in-law, JC Janse van Rensburg, contacted Impact Maintenance Services, the company responsible for the repairs, after finding their website on Google.
“It was terrible seeing my mother-in-law suffer as she did,” Janse van Rensburg said.
The owner of the Boksburg-based company said they quickly got permission from Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) to look at the lifts.
“We wanted to do it for free, but EMM insisted we send a quote and an invoice, which can only happen after we’ve figured out what the problem with the second lift is,” said the owner, who did not want to be named.
“You can’t let elderly people suffer like this, I felt we had to do it as soon as possible.”
The company owner said the first lift is working now and he is still waiting for the arrival of a contractor for the second lift, who was expected this week.
“The problem is these lifts are about 30 years old; it’s not easy to find parts for them anymore,” he explained.
“Younger technicians don’t always know how to fix them, because they are trained to operate newer models.
“This isn’t EMM’s fault, it’s just that much of the knowledge has become lost over the years.”
The owner said he had more than 45 years experience working with lifts.
PR Clr Malanie Haggard (Ward 73) welcomed the repair, but questioned EMM’s delay until now and noted that the lifts at Pauline Davis Court are still non-operational.
“Why couldn’t council do this back then, when the lifts first broke, and for how long will these new repairs last?” Haggard asked.
EMM was approached for comment, but none had been received at the time of publication.
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