{"id":52991,"date":"2022-07-19T06:02:17","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T04:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/stairways-to-hell-20220718\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T19:54:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T17:54:26","slug":"stairways-to-hell-20220718","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/stairways-to-hell-20220718\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stairways to hell\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Broken staircases leading up to flats in the Woodlands area have left residents in fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With broken and rusted railings, crumbling stairways and exposed iron in most of the blocks of flats, the residents fear injury whenever stepping out of their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These flats have been around for decades and are part of the City of Cape Town\u2019s rental stock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaleez Ermstzen, who has been a resident of one of the blocks of flats in Pandora Road for most of her life, says one of her concerns is that the rusted railings pose a great danger to her elderly father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf he must trip and fall into these railings, it will not hold him. He will fall with these railings,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the staircases is so bad, the landing section broke and the workers came to repair it. It was so bad that they could not repair it. They just placed a board over it. There is an elderly man living there in a wheelchair. That wood is getting soft with all this rain. It is (only) a matter of time. Must someone first get hurt?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabieba Rademeyer, who has been living at these flats for around 40 years, says the matter is dire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am just so scared this will fall on the children. The children play, they do not want to listen not to play on the stairs,\u201d says Rademeyer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents say they have reported the matter to the City on countless occasions with workers coming out to repair patches now and then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe report and report. They come (out) to fix but it is the same thing again. The entire staircase is giving in,\u201d says Rademeyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were told that these stairs are irreparable. The workers who came here said it needs to be flattened and redone,\u201d says Ermstzen. \u201cI do understand, these flats are more than 40 years old, so obviously it will start getting bad. But do not get me wrong, this needs to be fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says the last time repair work was done at the block of flats was three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During an inspection of one of the staircases, rusted, loose and unstable railings are evident. People\u2019s Post<\/span> also observed stairs missing complete corners, many rods exposed creating tripping hazards and the underside of the stairways also crumbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the case, if not worse at most of the blocks, residents say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Malusi Booi, Mayco member for human settlements, says repair work is a process and that the City currently has backlogs in repair work to rental stock. He adds that R1 billion has been spent on maintenance over the past two years in the City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a result of aging infrastructure and the large number of staircases, not to mention the intricate engineering work required to do replacements and repairs, some have required urgent work, and we assure our residents that the work continues,\u201d says Booi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe City\u2019s Public Housing Department is currently experiencing severe repair work backlogs, primarily due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and we are trying our best to work through it. The required work will be carried out as soon as it is possible. We thank our residents for their patience while we attend to the most urgent cases first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of replacing stairways began in 2018, Booi says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe City\u2019s Public Housing Department has replaced or upgraded 854 staircases, and the City will continue to address the concerns raised by our residents. The City encourages its tenants to notify it of any concerns around safety or where staircases or scaffolding have been damaged or vandalised. The City will attend to the service requests as a matter of urgency,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStaircase replacements and upgrades have been completed across the metro. The City\u2019s dedicated teams are working tirelessly to ensure that the staircases that have been identified for urgent repairs are attended to as soon as possible and that temporary safety measures are put in place to deal with any safety issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents say they have already made countless reports. Booi has given no specific timeline for repairs to these flats to People\u2019s Post.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ermstzen says they have already observed countless injuries \u2013 from children getting stuck in railings to a clump of concrete falling on a man\u2019s shoulder, just missing his head. They fear these instances of injuries will only increase as the stairs continue to break and deteriorate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Booi says residents can lodge a claim from the City in the event of injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cResidents may submit a claim application. For more information about the submission of a claim, visit the City\u2019s website,\u201d he says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Access the website via: http:\/\/www.capetown.gov.za\/City-Connect\/Claim-or-dispute\/Complaints-and-claims-against-the-City\/Submit-a-claim-against-the-City.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Broken staircases leading up to flats in the Woodlands area have left residents in 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