Metro misses deadline to find contractor to replace Scribante lifts

Elderly people at Andries Scribante Haven are still, after two years, waiting for the metro to fix or replace the dysfunctional lights at the old age centre in Cason.

In its latest promise made in April, the metro said it was undergoing a procurement process for the installation of new lifts, a process which was expected to be completed last month (September).

However, Clr Marius de Vos told the Advertiser that when he approached the metro and enquired about the progress on finding the contractor, officials told him the process is not yet finalised.

This means the residents will have to wait much longer before their lifts are replaced.

The Advertiser received a number of complaints about frail, old residents of the centre who had been stuck in their flats because they are unable to use the flights of stairs.

When asked about the delays in replacing the lifts at the council-owned facility, the municipality spokesperson, Themba Gadebe, said work had earlier commenced to repair the lifts, but the contract lapsed before the work could be completed.

This meant the metro had to restart another supply chain process to bring on board a new contractor.

The old lifts were dismantled and removed by the previous appointed contractor due to the fact that they were no longer functional and had reached their expected useful life.

There were also reports that the lifts were apparently ordered from China, but when asked if that is true, Gadebe said the lifts were at the time being sourced by the previously appointed contractor and that the municipality was not aware of who the contractor’s suppliers were.

The Advertiser is still awaiting comment regarding the latest delay.

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