Health department head office is in a very unhealthy state

The department of health has forced employees to only work three hours a day because, ironically, their headquarters are still a health hazard.

The Civitas Building in Pretoria, which also houses the health minister, seems to be in a deteriorating state, with parts of the ceiling collapsing and sections of the building cordoned off.

At the entrance of the state of the art 29-floor building, the majority of the biometric glass security doors are out of order. Buckets were strategically placed in various parts of the building, including the department’s library, due to leaking ceilings following the recent rains, which have left carpets and documents damaged.

Several floors, offices and boardrooms were cordoned off with red tape as parts of the broken ceilings lay on the carpets while cables were left exposed. According to building inspections conducted last year, black dust was found as the hi-tech building has no windows. `ventilation is also poor. But since a task team was established to find alternative buildings, not much has changed except the working hours of health staff.

A notice was issued in October for workers to report for duty from 8am to 11am to allow the department to upgrade the dilapidated building. This potentially affected the functioning of the country’s health department.

Some staff members have opted to work from the parking lot or the building’s foyer for fear of being harmed or falling ill due to the hazardous building.

“We proposed to work on projects outside the building but the department didn’t respond,” said provincial manager of the Public Servants Association (PSA) union Olivia Mashego.

“At the last meeting we attended, the minister said the acting director-general should deal with this. But I don’t think the role players care … it’s as if they are waiting for a catastrophe, like the Bank of Lisbon, where people have to die first before something is done.”

While the emergency relocation task team identified two potential buildings to relocate to, there seemed to have been little progress since the task team’s chair was hospitalised.

“A presentation was made on whether these identified buildings meet the department’s requirements but no decision has been taken yet.

“The department is so relaxed,” Mashego said.

Health department spokesperson Popo Maja could not confirm how the department was impacted by the shorter working hours. He also couldn’t say when staff would be relocated to an alternative building.

“The department is unable to comment on this issue at the moment,” he said.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za

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