A Phoenix grandfather fears for the safety of his loved ones after the eThekwini Municipality’s failure to repair a section of the Caneside Clinic concrete fence which collapsed onto a housing complex a few years ago, weakening the rest of the structure.
The resident of Spurhaven Crescent, Mr S Moodley said he’s been complaining about the collapsed fence for the past four years and that the municipality has done nothing to resolve the issue. Another section of the concrete fence is near collapse, posing a danger to the residents of the Spurhaven Crescent housing complex. Moodley said the fence is the responsibility of the council property next door to their complex, therefore they are liable for the repair work. He said: “A number of people have come to look at the collapsed fence over the years, they took countless of photos and videos and promised to sort it out, but have done absolutely nothing about the matter to date. The fence could have hurt somebody but luckily no-one was around when it collapsed. Shockingly there’s another section of the fence directly opposite my house that’s about to fall off. I’ve resorted to using a steel pole to hold the fence and prevent yet another collapse.”
Moodley said the weakened section of the fence is next to his three-year-old grandson’s play area. “I’m really worried that the fence might fall over and injure him or other kids from the complex while playing outside. Each pillar of the concrete fence weighs about 40 to 50kgs and a child would die if the fence was to collapse on them guaranteed. Children enjoy playing outdoors and will do the opposite of what they are told – if you tell a child not to go play there, they will go play at the very same spot you’ve told them to avoid. I’ve recently stopped my grandson from playing outdoors, he’s become a prisoner in his own home which is not fair for a child but I’m left with no other choice. The fence is currently being held by a single pole and one strand of wire, it poses a huge danger to my family and other residents of this complex, it’s a matter of life and death,” said the irate resident. He added: “I’ve sent emails upon emails and nobody seems to care or considers this as a serious matter. Are they waiting for a tragedy to happen before they start doing something after blatantly avoiding the problem that could have been fixed to prevent a death or serious injury. If the fence is falling, take the initiative to bring it down instead of waiting for something to happen.
It’s very sad that four years later this issue has still not received the attention it deserves,” said the irate resident. Ward Councillor, Lyndal Singh said she was unaware of this case in particular as it had never been brought to her attention, however she maintained that municipality is aware of the deteriorating infrastructure issues at the clinic. “These concerns were addressed with the then deputy head of the eThekwini Municipality’s Health Unit, Rosemary Van Heerden, who is now the Head of Department. She did come to the clinic for an oversight and acknowledged the failing infrastructure issues. It’s unacceptable that the municipality has not allocated a budget to deal with these issues timeously,” said Cllr Singh. She said: “Surely the community shouldn’t be crying out to the municipality to be attending to critical issues such as this for a prolonged period. Are they waiting for a fatality to occur before these issues are addressed. This should have been dealt with as a matter of priority.” Municipal spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela said: “The EThekwini Municipality is not aware of this incident, as a result we are ascertaining the veracity of these reports from the relevant department.”
