Durban - The wheels of justice at the Durban Magistrate’s Court building could soon grind to a halt because only one lift is working consistently at the busy courthouse.
With access limited to the 12-storey tower block housing the bulk of the building’s courts, executives are due to meet on Monday to decide whether the courts are to be shut down due to safety concerns.
There are 11 lifts servicing different parts of the building, seven of which are located in the tower block. But most of the lifts have been on the blink for much of the year because the lift company, Schindler Lifts, which is meant to attend to units, have not been paid for nine months.
The Sunday Tribune has been reliably informed that the company would not move a wrench until it received the more than R1.8 million it was owed by the Department of Public Works, in respect of work done.
The source said the company previously had a five-year maintenance and service contract with the department, but that contract was not renewed when it ended in March.
“Since the end of March, the department has been committing to month-to-month service contracts with Schindler, but has not honoured that commitment with payment. “Therefore, the company decided to down its tools until it received its outstanding dues,” the informant confirmed.
Aakash Srivastava, regional director for Schindler, refused to comment when contacted.
The Department of Public Works promised to respond to e-mailed questions regarding the lifts but had not done so last night.
The impasse between the department and Schindler shifted the situation at the building to dire, when only one unit operated for much of this week.
Court staff, attorneys, prosecutors, magistrates and the public were forced to cram into it. A prosecutor working at the building likened boarding a lift to running the gauntlet.
“On one occasion I was sandwiched between two accused persons in a matter I was handling. That was a harrowing experience.”
The Department of Justice promised to comment but had not done so at the time of going to print.