Durban - A pigeon invasion, rain seeping through the ceiling and rotten wooden floors were some of the concerns that led to the eThekwini council recommending an investigation into health and safety of the Durban City Hall.
In a report tabled at the municipality’s full council sitting at the city hall on Thursday, the council mandated the head of occupational health and safety, together with relevant officials, to conduct an investigation and report back to its executive committee (Exco).
Mayor Zandile Gumede’s office is also not occupied because of seeping rain water and rotten floorboards.
Mthunzi Gumede, the mayor’s spokesperson, said the floor in his boss’s office had “potholes”.
“Pigeons invade the city hall, causing a breakdown of the air conditioning system in the building. Rain seeps through into the mayor’s office and other adjoining offices.
“When it rains, furniture has to be moved to dry areas. The office floorboards have potholes, which could easily result in sprained ankles or even worse,” he said.
Gumede explained that the investigation was to identify intervention measures to make the structure a conducive working environment.
Sharon Hoosen, DA Exco member, said at meetings that the pigeons gained access through narrow openings in the ceilings and remained trapped in the rooms.
Damage
“Pigeons have also caused damage to the outside of the buildings, leaving behind unsightly droppings. The brass balustrades, carpets and rooms have not been cleaned in years.
“We don’t need yet another investigation into the health and safety of some of the municipal buildings stated in the report.
“It is very clear to us that several municipal buildings across the city require urgent maintenance.
“The root cause of the problem is that the city has not set aside sufficient funds for maintenance of the city hall and other municipal buildings for several years now, thus resulting in the general degradation of municipal infrastructure,” Hoosen said.
She said the city hall had been neglected for years and had now become an embarrassment.
“The very basic maintenance routines are not carried out and city officials have little regard for the importance of maintenance of existing infrastructure.
“Even the world-renowned organ in the city hall has been unusable for more than a decade now,” she said.
In 2008, it was reported that the organ would not be repaired because the then municipal manager, Michael Sutcliffe, had said it was not a priority, and that more than R10million had been spent over the years trying to repair the instrument, which was not something ratepayers should be paying for.