The residents of Phoenix are calling for a better system and service delivery at their local Sizakala Center (rent office), after an elderly woman fainted while waiting hours to be served.
The angry residents said they were made to stand outside for hours, in the scorching heat along with the elderly, with nobody updating them on the situation inside. Mrs N. Naidoo, who was among those waiting for several hours on Thursday, 21 April, said they were refused entry to the premise and told to wait. She said: “We were not given a reason as to why we had to stand outside. There was no place to sit so we had to stand in the heat. I had a baby with me, which made the experience much harder. What I failed to understand is that the rent office did not put a system in place for the needs of the residents, everyone was bunched up on the outside. There should have been different lines so that the queues could have moved faster.” After a long wait, Naidoo said she was later helped by the supervisor and was given a note to return the next day. “The supervisor was extremely helpful, however, this could have all been avoided if they took the initiative to put a system in place. Most of the residents waiting there were elderly members of the community and it is sad that they had to sit on pavements and rocks, just to rest their feet as they had been standing for a long time. Something needs to be done,” added Naidoo.
Another resident, Mrs. E. Mahomed, said: “The security guard did not want to open the gates to let us into the premises. Myself and several other people had been waiting and yet only a few people got to do their rates rebate. Some of the residents who were waiting were turned away on previous days and unable to get their rebates done. The saddest part of it all was that we had to wait in the scorching heat without no shelter, this resulted in an elderly women, who had fainted because of exhaustion.” Mahomed further added that the elderly woman was later transported by a resident to her home. “The staff at the rent office came out and provided the elderly woman with water, but she was extremely tired and dehydrated, another resident decided to drive her home so that she can rest. If the rent office knew that we were not allowed inside, they should have provided chairs and shelter, so that such situations could have been avoided,” she said.
Ward 49 Councillor, Tino Pillay, who is aware of the situation, said: “It is very unfortunate that an elderly person fainted at the local rent office in Phoenix on Thursday. The congestion of services is due to the fact that the Sizakala Center (rent office) in Phoenix is about to undergo some major renovations and are in a transition process currently. The department is yet to allocate an alternate venue for the continuation of services to the community of Phoenix. There are several challenges, which I am liaising with the management to alleviate and ensure our residents are assisted timeously.” EThekwini Municipality’s Spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela, said they were not aware of any bad service at the rent office. He said: “The Phoenix Customer Care Centre office has a very dedicated team of members who are working tirelessly to ensure that the community and customers are afforded the best possible service.”
“It must be appreciated that although the National State of Disaster is over, Covid-19 is still very much among us. For this reason, the numbers of the customers entering the small space must be always managed. The customers are not restricted from entering the premises, however, they must enter in a controlled manner. This is professionally enforced by the team members assigned with this responsibility. This is a process applicable in all customer service centres in the city, not only the Phoenix office,” said Mayisela. He further added that all customers visiting their facility are assisted and they have no reports left unattended. He said customers are encouraged to work with the team members to ensure that the queues are dealt with smoothly and expeditiously.
