Despite numerous reports to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, repairs to the lift have still not been done.
The building, which is owned by the metro and rented out to senior citizens, has been without a working lift for 18 months.
Also read: Dim light at the end of the tunnel for Markville residents
Residents of the five-storey building are forced to haul their groceries up all five floors.
“We have to carry all our bags up and it’s hard for us because they can get heavy,” says Linda van Biljon (60), who wears a back brace to support her fractured vertebrae.
“When we had no water, we could only carry two litres of water per trip because the only tap that had water was on the ground floor.
“I really struggled because I have a back problem.”
Also read: No elevator for Markville residents
For 80-year-old Rina Venter, the broken lift brings back painful memories of her husband Jan’s illness.
“He died on October 30, 2017 and we had to carry him down the stairs every time he had to go to hospital,” Venter said.
“We really struggled, even when the ambulance came, we had to help them carry him all the way down.”
Residents in the building are especially upset because the rent has been going up by 10 per cent every year for the past three years, but service delivery has not improved.
They allege that communal areas are not looked after, as evidenced by peeling paint on the walls and the dirty staircase.
“We are getting desperate and are appealing to the municipality to help us,” says van Biljon.
“Last year the metro said fixing the lift will start in August, but that hasn’t happened.
“In February, it will be two years since the lift broke.”
The metro failed to respond in time for publishing.
