RAPULA MOATSHE
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has been accused of neglecting a block of flats under its care in Pretoria's inner city, which recently had sewerage spilling onto the streets, posing a health risk to the community.
EFF regional chairperson Obakeng Ramabodu, who is also the City of Tshwane Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC), slammed the SANDF in a video circulating on social media, revealing the appalling state of the organisation’s property.
The video exposed the neglect and decay of the buildings, situated at the corner of Steve Biko and Justice Mahomed streets.
The footage also shows sewerage spilling out of the premises onto the nearby streets, posing serious health risks to the surrounding community.
Ramabodu could be heard in a video urging the SANDF to take responsibility for the deplorable state of one of its properties.
He also pointed out that the sewerage spilling onto the streets posed a health risk to the community.
He called on the SANDF to take immediate action to clean up the sewer and restore the property to a decent condition.
"There is nothing that is working and there are people who are residing in this flat. There are no services. It has just been left unattended and no one is doing anything," he said.
Ramabodu said the flat has been in the derelict state for quite some time and that the SANDF's lack of attention to the property is unacceptable.
“We have reported it several times. Look now, there is a sewer that is coming right from their flats. The sewer just goes straight across the street and people are going to say the municipality doesn’t work… I am told it is managed by the SANDF, but they are not doing anything. They are not attending the flat. It is very horrible,” he said.
He further sounded an alarm that the flat might collapse at any time because of its dilapidated structure.
"It's not conducive for people to live in this environment," he said.
He promised to engage with the municipal workers “to see what we can do to avoid this sewage”.
A visit to the SANDF-managed property revealed cracked and missing windows, crumbling walls, and a putrid stench from the recent sewage spill that created an unbearable environment.
A neighbour expressed outrage, saying, "It is shameful that a government department, especially one responsible for national defence, allows its own employees to live in such squalor."
SANDF spokesperson Simphiwe Dlamini had not responded questions about the department's plan to address building structural issues at the time of publication.