Pretoria - Frustrated residents of dilapidated buildings owned by the City of Tshwane want the City to at least fix water leaks while it works on its plans to revamp the flats.
This comes after the City last month revealed that it was planning major refurbishment of Blesbok and Bosbok buildings in Arcadia after residents accused the municipality of abandoning the buildings.
Some residents stopped paying rent when water started leaking into their flats, ruining their property around 2013. Residents said the Blesbok building was in total decay because of leaking pipes, rotting electric wires and old infrastructure.
When Pretoria News visited the building we were met by the sight of Toshei Eiman sweeping sewage water from her flat that she shares with her husband and three children.
Eiman and her neighbour Denay January said although Mayoral Spokesperson Sipho Stuurman announced that the City was in the process of transferring the buildings to the Housing Company Tshwane and there were plans to refurbishment them, they should at least fix the leaks in the meantime.
A frustrated Eiman took the Pretoria News team inside her flat to see the water leaks from pipes and from flats above hers.
"I wake up from around 5am to sweep this sewage water outside our flat every single day and I do that until 11pm when I go to bed. You can smell it is horrible but we have to live like this.
"At this point we do not know if one day the floor is going to just plunge in and we wake up on the ground floor because the entire floor and concrete is wet. Even the tiles have lifted a bit.
"My young daughter is now sick ever so often and it was never like that before. The last two years have just been so horrible. We moved here as the first coloured family back in 2003 when all the residents were still white and I remember then the buildings were well cared for.
"Over the years they were just abandoned and those people who could afford to leave left. Those who remained behind eventually got to a position where it was no longer worthy to pay to live in the building. I am more than willing but right now I am not prepared to pay R2 700 for a flat like this."
When asked why the City did not at least attend to the leaks, Stuurman said: "We just had two weeks of protest action which disrupted most of our services so we are currently in a catch-up phase, whether it is electricity or various other services, including attending to water leaks.
"I am sure that in due time we will reach the areas that have been affected including the two buildings. Unfortunately the effects of the protests are long term but it is our intention to reach all residents and carry on delivering quality services."
Ward councillor Conride Ngobeni, who could not be reached due to the council meeting, visited the Eiman family and agreed that their living conditions were horrible.
Through WhatsApp, he told Eiman that the family would be relocated as the Housing Company Tshwane would be working on relocation. He facilitated a meeting between Eiman and an official from the Housing Company Tshwane to ensure the family would be assisted.
Pretoria News