FASHION
SOSHTIMES
LATE MAY 2018
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SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2018
MAY 2018
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TSHWANE BULLETIN
5 A
Health building deemed hazardous By Letlhogonolo Mosete National Deparment of Health civitas building in Tshwane where workers have embaked on a go slow
Lack of adequate ventilation at the National Health Department is amongst the reason why employees at the government institution, have embarked on an industrial action until their demands are met by their employer. This comes amid claims of a fire that broke out and being quickly extinguished, carbon monoxide circulating in the enclosed building which they say poses health hazard to workers with some experiencing mild symptoms, attributed to them inhaling the fumes. A visit by Tshwane Bullletin team of Journalists found employees just sitting at the unkept foyer of the Civitas building in Pretoria waiting to knock off, chatting whilst the reception area was left unmanned. Fearing reprisal from their seniors two ladies spoke anonymously to Tshwane Bulletin reporters and said “We are waiting for our concerns to be addressed as the building doesn’t have air coming through because we are closed in by the glass, we are inhaling carbon monoxide from the fire that was extinguished as the result of this.” “We cannot work under such
Beneficiaries not happy with state of RDP houses
conditions, the air conditions are not working, the infrastructure is old,dilapidated and the renovations done were just a cover screen.” With the provision of quality healthcare services always in a critical state, with patients bearing the brunt. The protracted strike is directly compromising the healthcare system in South Africa The department of Health Spokesperson Popo Maja said ;“As much as people have the right to strike, they must also respect the right not to strike. He said the department could not dismiss claims that the building is making workers sick, but it had been requesting evidence of such cases from the unions for ages.” The Public ServantAssociation (PSA) Assistant Manager Reuben Maleka in an affidavit to the court said “The department had neglected to maintain a safe working environment, thus subjecting its members to work in an environment that is harmful to their health and wellbeing and that in its own accord is a violation of their constitutional rights. Meanwhile City of Tshwane Mayor is said to be formulating a plan of action to address the issue of old, dilapidated and uninhabitable buildings in the city
Hawkers demand immediate release of the arrested By Letlhogonolo Mosete Tempers flared and the situation nearly turned violent, as a large number of angry hawkers at Mabopane Station, marched to the Rietgat Police Station demanding the immediate release of four of their own, who were arrested for assault recently. Hawker’s pleas falling on deaf ears, solicitation of bribes and intimidation, were some of the accusations they leveled against the police.
of the suspected thieves, who later laid charges and fingered the four as the perpetrators, who were subsequently arrested and spent two nights in jail. One of the hawkers who spoke anonymously said he had his equipment and stock stolen by thieves, setting him back. “It is frustrating for me because I now have to buy new equipment in order to provide for my family. We want police to be visible in the area we operate at.” Rietgat Police station Spokesperson Stephen Maluleka said “As the police
“As the police we don’t condone such acts, we strongly advice everyone to desist from taking the law into their own hands irrespective of their grievances” Rietgat Police station Spokesperson Stephen Maluleka
One of the RDP houses with a gapping crack on the outside that has infuriated the beneficiaries By Tshepo Marutha The former residents of ‘Marry Me’ informal settlement who have been moved to a new RDP housing development in Extension 19, Soshanguve are crying foul over the major defects on the houses that have been allocated to them. They claim that they were forced to sign ‘Happy Letters’ an (official document that symbolises that all parties are satisfied with the state of the houses) during the hand over. While on the contrary they were moved into houses with gaping
cracks on the walls that water seeps through during rainy days, mismatching taps that are not properly fitted, non-functioning solar geysers on the rooftops and ruptured wooden door panels and windows that are falling apart. A Community Leader, Kedibone Chiloane said they have on numerous occasions tried to alert the City of Tshwane, Gauteng Department of Housing but their call for help keeps on falling on deaf ears. “I am worried that the situation will ultimately get out of hand
with the looming rainy season. The cracks on the walls are getting bigger and bigger by the day. We have been told several times by the sub-contractors that we are ungrateful because we got the houses for free.” said Chiloane. Her neighbour Zondiwe Mhlanga put the blamed the sub-contractor for the poor workmanship; “They wanted to save money at all cost hence we have to deal with all the defects. They used ‘Nyaope Boys’ to build some
This comes after a spike in number of theft of stock and equipment incidents, at the storage facilities of the aggrieved informal traders. Having no faith in the police they did their own detective work and allegedly apprehended a suspect They then administered their own method of justice to one of the houses. Most people are unemployed and they do not have money to fix the houses on their own.” The Chairperson of the International Relations in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Masefako Dikgale also raised her concerns over poor workmanship on the houses during a service delivery oversight visit to the area.
we don’t condone such acts, we strongly advice people to desist from taking the law into their own hands irrespective of their grievances. Everyone is equal before the law. We urge community members not to be part of such criminal activities or they will find themselves on the wrong side of the law and with a criminal record.” In an effort to address the situation Dikgale has called for a meeting with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlement, the main contractor (Faranani Properties), subcontractors and beneficiaries to find a solution. She and her delegation said they were concerned about reports of subcontractors who were not paid for three years.
