Civil servants in King William’s Town say their hot, rodent- and lizard-infested building is making people sick.
In fact, a government report has found the building is so hot it can cause heat stroke and kill people. The Dispatch discovered that the problem lies between the landlord and the departments of social development and public works, who are apparently in a long squabble over renovation while nothing gets done.
Eastern Cape social development staff say their Beacon Hill office park building has been making them ill for years.
In a letter to department head Ntombi Baart they protest about the decay, the stifling heat and the rodent infestation.
In 2011 a scathing disaster management report from BCM found the building’s lack of insulation was life-threatening.
Baart said the department was concerned about the staff’s welfare. “It has a potential to lead to absenteeism because of sickness and low levels of productivity. Therefore, the department has escalated these concerns to the government’s office space managers – the public works department. We still await their permanent solution,” she said.
Public works spokeswoman Vuyokazi Mbajwa said that the department was worried about the building and was engaging the landlord and the social development department.
“The landlord has been waiting for the user departments (including social development) to agree to the landlord’s renovations proposal, but to date work has not commenced,” Mbajwa said.
She said an independent firm of engineers was on site and busy reassessing the landlord’s designs with a proposed remedial renovations plan.None of the officials gave a time for when work would start...