Elderly residents at Deneys Conradie Residentia are in a desperate situation after municipal cleaners no longer remove their trash bags. This has been the case since the beginning of this year.
The City Times reported in 2016 about the building’s elevators not working.
READ:
New lifts at council-owned flats on the horizon – metro
The elderly are forced to use steel stairs, without non-slip tape, to remove their trash bags.
The City Times spoke to three women, who all asked to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation.
An 88-year-old woman said the workers only clean outside the units.
She said she understands this, but said municipal cleaners used to fetch their trash at their doors and took it to the refuse area downstairs.
“I have a serious problem taking out my trash and we will all probably one day not be able to walk down the stairs,” she said.
She lives on the third and highest floor.
The woman said when she asked the cleaners why their trash bags were not being removed anymore, she did not get an answer.
The second woman said she does not have a big problem getting around, but she can see that the older people are struggling.
She is in her mid-60s.
A 70-year-old partially blind woman said she is able to find her way around.
She has macular degeneration, which is an eye condition that causes loss of vision.
“My husband’s legs aren’t good anymore, so we take turns taking out the trash,” she said.
“We must walk up and down 54 stairs,” she said.
She also said the general maintenance of Deneys Conradie is a problem.
“The lights in the corridor never work,” she said.
The roof of her apartment is also peeling.
“The roof was fixed last year, but it is peeling again,” she said.
According to all three women the City Times spoke to, the council said money had been allocated to fix the lifts in October of last year.
Ward 73 Clr Sinethemba Matiwane said the elderly must read their contracts and said it states they must be self-sufficient.
When asked why the residents’ trash isn’t removed as it used to be, Matiwane said he would ask about the reason.
He could not provide an update on a timeline the City Times reported on in August last year.
In August the City Times reported that Themba Gadebe, EMM spokesperson, said Deneys Conradie Residentia would receive two lifts at a cost of R1 387 379.
“If all goes according to plan, we might start with construction in the third week of August 2017,” he told the City Times.
Installation has yet to begin.
At the time of publication, the EMM had not responded to questions sent on August 5.
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