Group calls for repairs of collapsing staircases
THE group Gatvol Capetonian has taken the City to task over the state of staircases in its public flats.
It says the City’s own engineer condemned 149 staircases on the Cape Flats as ailing and critical.
The group’s spokesperson, Fadiel Adams, said: “The DA-run City has since turned a blind eye to the remaining 145 staircases that will collapse, endangering our people in the process, preferring to divert emergency funds to non-essential projects such as painting and repairing roads in affluent areas.”
Adams said he found that the City had put scaffolding up as a temporary measure.
“The scaffolding erected to replace the fallen staircases are illegal. They do not conform to national building regulations, they are not fireproof, they are rusted and slippery when wet.
“The result of our own investigation revealed that the scaffold staircases were purportedly as a ‘temporary’ measure… meaning seven to 30 days. These rickety staircases have been in existence for 10 months now, risking the lives of all who use it – young, old, sickly, the DA seriously couldn’t give a toss,” he said.
Mayco member for Human Settlements, Malusi Booi, the City’s Public Housing Department was aware of the work and the staircase replacements that needed to be completed at community residential units in Hanover Park, Lavender Hill, Manenberg, Retreat and Parkwood. He said more than R146 million had been availed as part of the first phase of the staircase project and that work was ongoing.
Adams said they had been engaging with Mayor Dan Plato on unsafe staircases at a number of public houses in Lavender Hill, Manenberg and Parklands. “It’s as if Dan Plato is okay with us living under the threat of concrete structures that are about to collapse,” he said.
Booi said: “We are carrying out the most important work first in order of emergency work considerations.
“Replacing and/or repairing staircases, however, does take time. We urge residents to please be patient with us while the work is being completed. We are also experiencing severe repair work backlogs, primarily due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.”