Issues with refurbished Wentworth flats persist

RESIDENTS living in refurbished flats on Alabama Road in Wentworth say they are not pleased with the work done. Almost three years later, they have alleged that their cries fall on deaf ears.

Some have said that their units were better off before the renewal. Their hopes resorted when Cape Coloured Congress’ ward 68 candidate, Neil Axford, did a door-to-door campaign.

Axford, known for his community involvement and impartiality, elected to sit down with the residents and find out their issues. What was initially set out to be four hours spent covering an area ended up taking longer.

“I had to sit down and listen to their complaints,” he said. “When I got to Alabama Road, I heard the cries of the people with regards to what has happened with the refurbishment. Every door I went to had similar issues which they have been raising since 2019 to all platforms.”

The refurbishment started off in 2010 and is still ongoing. According to the project’s steering committee chairperson, Dr Desmond D’Sa, a budget of R140 million was set out to renew the over four decades strong flats.

To ensure accountability and transparency, the project kicked off with residents who were elected to ensure oversight.

“Snags happened under the watch of people who were nominated to do oversight observations. They failed to check the flats before the people moved back in and just signed off with the contractors,” D’Sa said of the flat blocks done over three years ago.

He said it was unfortunate that some committee members left the group after their flats were fixed. As a way forward, he does the checks himself to ensure that the work done is up to standard.

Axford said his heart is with the residents who despite their efforts, are not getting the attention they desperately need for their homes.

“My concern is that everybody concerned is aware of their cries. It is also about the lack of intervention to resolve the issues correctly and the poor turnaround time and poor communication to keep them informed. They are really in desperate need to get these snags completed so they can continue with their lives,” he said.

Some units have no stairway railings. An elderly woman attested to the difficulty her late daughter experienced because she had had a stroke.

Using the stairs was a nightmare for her because she would often get bruises as there was nothing for her to hold on to. Another issue residents raised was the lack of fire extinguishers in their blocks.

“It’s a ripple effect socially, economically, and mentally. If one liaises with residents for public participation, they would raise these issues. These would be noted down on a list of issues at the meeting which will then lead to action being taken from that list.”

“From there, one would be able to monitor the date on which the matter was raised. This is one way of holding people accountable with regard to the turnaround time. If these engagements are done, then the geyser issue would have been established that they are faulty. Even with that, people must be held accountable,” he added.

D’Sa insisted that the steering committee had been transparent since its onset. He said 12 years later, the project is nearing completion and will not be stopped because a few people say so.

“The people in Wentworth are lucky to have even had government inject R140 million into this refurbishment project. This is developing the area and with every development, there will be issues and it is their responsibility to report them.

“I meet with the steering committee every week and these are minuted word for word. If the residents want these records we have them and can show them the proof. The contractor tried to run away from replacing the faulty geysers but we got him to account.”

“For 40 years, these flats were not done. We cannot be fighting and saying there is no development in Wentworth when the government has allocated R90 000 per flat to get done,” he said.