The City Times received numerous complaints and claims of negligence from members of the Actonville community who reside in council-owned stock regarding the flats.
Frustrated and angered by the conditions they are forced to live in, like broken or burst pipes, a lack of corridor lights resulting in injury at night and structural damage to the buildings, residents say they are tired of putting complaints forth to the metro and receiving little to no help.
In a recent edition of the City Times dated March 7, a skip filled with waste, resulting in a health hazard to residents around Karachi and Ajmery Courts, was left in the middle of the flats.
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Other issues have since surfaced, including water damage to the Delhi Court structure despite recent refurbishment totalling R4-million by the metro for Delhi and Karachi Court, unclean environments due to dirt build up and a lack of working lifts.
The following extract from a letter addressed to the City Times was received from a Delhi Court resident regarding the state of the flats:
“Human excrement from the second floor leading all the way to the top, as well as urine on the staircase and walkways leading to the dwellings, puke on walkways and staircases, sweet wrappers, discarded drug ziplock bags, among other filth.”
Ward 29 Clr Haseena Ismail stated: “Quality workmanship, or the lack thereof, is a major concern.
“The refurbishment was done recently, but not long after residents started to experience issues.”
Delhi Court resident Zaitoon Ebrahim, a pensioner, stated the following regarding the condition of the flats after her newly installed shower would not open and broke within the same day it was installed:
“My bathroom door won’t close anymore because they (contractors) broke it when they were doing the upgrades,” said a tearful Ebrahim when speaking to the City Times.
“Every woman wants a nice house, just because I am from the flats doesn’t mean I should be treated any less.
“We are really suffering.
“I am a diabetic and these conditions are really stressful to live in.
“I don’t want to live like this.”
Damp ceilings and walls, found in Ebrahim’s flat, were a continuous sight in a number of flats in Delhi Court.
In a recent press release received from Ismail, the following claims were also established:
“The structural deterioration of the Actonville Council Flats, due to a lack of repair and maintenance, means residents are living in what is an accident waiting to happen,” Ismail alleged.
“Despite numerous resident petitions and escalations to the Department of Human Settlements, the Ekurhuleni metro has left these flats to deteriorate for years, putting residents’ lives at risk.
“No proper maintenance has resulted in dangerous structural damages which include burst pipes, broken gutters, old and leaking geysers, loose staircases and balcony awnings, water-drenched walls and broken palisade walling, among many others residents have to contend with.
“Providing a safe and healthy environment for residents is the very least the metro can do, while providing decent basic services forms the cornerstone of its governance mandate.
“While tenants report issues daily, little gets done by the metro.
“Residents have to wait months before they get any service.
“As the ward councillor for Actonville, I have to escalate every single reported issue before getting a response from the department.”
The Democratic Alliance in Ekurhuleni calls on the MMC for Human Settlements, Clr Lesiba Mpya, to start respecting the service needs of the residents of all Actonville flats by prioritising and allocating sufficient budget for the upgrade and refurbishment of the flats.
“We cannot afford any loss or injury that may occur due to negligence by the metro.”
A total of 11 council-owned flats are now affected by the alleged negligence:
• Agra Court
• Ajmery Court
• Aligra Court
• Aloe Court
• Azalea Court
• Bangalore Court
• Delhi Court
• Flora Court
• Karachi Court
• Lahore Court
• Primrose Court
The metro was contacted for comment regarding the matter.
No comment was received at the time of publishing.
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