CRU residents beg for failing infrastructure to be repaired

POLOKWANE – For five years, residents at the Community Residents Units (CRU) in Seshego have been pleading with the Polokwane Municipality and the Polokwane Housing Association (PHA) to make certain repairs to the premises and affected units, to no avail.

Johannes Thelele, a member of the CRU committee told BONUS that the residential area has been falling apart for years now and that residents are complaining about and experiencing the same issues. “We have sent countless messages to the municipality and the PHA and went as far as physically going there, with no luck. They send us from pillar to post with no help,” Thelele said.

One issue of concern is that of billing.

Thelele explained that billing does not make sense as residents are billed for water that does not add up to the amounts used.

“We have many residents who are billed R0.00 monthly, while others are billed up to R12 000 just for water. What does not make sense is that the residents who aren’t charged are the ones using more water than others. There must be an issue with the way the municipality calculates the meter readings,” Thelele said.

CRU resident, Mosima Phoshoko says smart water meters would make life easier and would eliminate billing issues.

When BONUS visited the units, Thelele’s unit was found with a collapsed ceiling, and the children now share a room with him because of the danger it poses. “There was a certain material used when the ceilings were installed that we feel poses a danger to our health,” he said.

The units have no balconies attached to the upper floors and most of the units have plugs that do not work.

Another resident, Kedibone Mathabela, showed BONUS how there is no railing attached to her staircase, leaving her to lean on the wall when moving upstairs and back downstairs. “I fear my children might get hurt. My unit is a complete mess and disaster. The ceiling in my children’s bedroom is falling apart due to a water damaged ceiling. This is water from the geyser because it has been leaking for years now and therefore, my children cannot sleep in that room anymore. Now they have to sleep in the lounge because it’s not safe for them,” Mathabela said.

Phoshoko added that the paint both on the inside and outside walls of the units is peeling off and that the children’s play area is not safe. “The windows that were damaged during the big hailstorm in November 2020 have still not been replaced,” she added.

Certain units have had burglar-proof bars installed, while others remain unprotected. “We would like to know why that is the case. This proves it’s an unfinished project,” Phoshoko said.

Another resident, Jacky Mokobane says her concern is the big electric box within the premises that does not close properly. “Children play around the box. I even took it upon myself to try close it with hard material, but the kids always find a way to open it somehow,” she said.

The units also accommodate disabled people and blind residents Phuti Maloba and Moses Mdhluli say they receive their water bills on normal paper as opposed to braille and have to rely on other residents to assist them make sense of their bills.

“The PHA is aware that we live here because they allocated the units to us. The municipality continues to send us bills that aren’t in braille which is a challenge for us because we don’t know how much we owe for water,” Maloba said.

Other concerns include:

• Outside meter tap leakage.

• Static in units as plugs were not earthed correctly.

• Sewage smell from toilets in some units.

• Not enough manholes installed (premises always flooded).

• No washing lines in the complex.

• Bins and bin area not cleaned.

• Grass that is not maintained.

• Covid-19 regulations not adhered to at the gate.

• Theft within the complex.

• Street lights around the complex not functioning.

“The Polokwane Housing Association welcomes the good work done by BONUS newspaper to report on our service levels in terms of delivery to tenants. It is unfortunate that some tenants ignore established platforms to communicate their maintenance issues, so that they can receive the service they need, but instead to report their requests to us via a newspaper,” PHA Spokesperson, Shimi Maimela said.

He added that there are two platforms where residents can report issues, namely a WhatsApp number and directly to the PHA offices.

“We then do an inspection to verify and attend to the matters that are reported,” Maimela said.

He added that the children’s playground area is in the process of receiving the necessary attention.

“The municipality’s service provider was chased away by tenants while working on the electrical box, and that is the reason for the box still being open. There is a plan in process to bring them back with protection to enable them to attend to this matter, and other electrical matters that need attention,” he said.

In terms of the unkept grass, Maimela says equipment has been purchased to attend to the matter and that the PHA together with the municipality will ensure that rubbish is collected regularly.

BONUS contacted the Spokesperson for the Polokwane Municipality, Thipa Selala, for comment on the matter on Monday, 31 May. No comment was received.

anne@nmgroup.co.za