Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development, Bheki Nkosi, made an unscheduled visit this morning (Thursday, 17 November 2011) to the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital. The purpose was for him to ascertain the extent of the problem with regard to malfunctioning lifts at the institution. The MEC’s action was prompted by complaints that were sent to the media by affected members of the community.
Upon arrival and inspecting lifts in all the hospital buildings, it was confirmed that only Block 1, which accommodates the maternity section and Block 2, which accommodate children’s wards, had challenges with some of the lifts that are not working.
The lifts in blocks 3, 4 and 5 were found to be in good working condition. There are four (4) sets of lifts on each of the two affected blocks. The MEC discovered that on each set in the affteced two blocks, there were two lifts in working condition and two others not functioning.
Whilst only one (1) lift was reported to be malfunctioning by yesterday, the MEC learnt that the slip-ring (generator brushes in the machine room) packed-up overnight and affected three other sets.
In his engagements with on-site technicians, MEC Nkosi discovered the following factors causing the malfunctioning:
- Lifts on the other blocks have no problems because the other blocks have new sets of lifts whilst Blocks 1 and 2 are operating on old sets that date back to 1974 (36 years old);
- These old lift sets are stripped beyond repair and the particular spares are obsolete; they are no longer shelf-items based on the age of the lifts;
- It was also discovered that the original manufacturers are no longer manufacturing these particular components and have moved to modernised approaches. Hence the difficulty to get the components;
- Over the years, the old set of lifts were being serviced by different contractors from the then Transvaal Provincial Administration (TPA) and most of these service providers have failed to document their innovative interventions in resolving problems whilst fixing the sets. This makes it difficult for any incoming service provider to locate the immediate fault area at times;
To this effect, MEC Nkosi expressed regret for the inconvenience to the users and assured all stakeholders that the department remains committed to ensuring that lifts are operational whilst the department is busy with the programme of replacing old lifts with new and modern sets.
The MEC has urged officials and technicians to see to it that lifts are working at an optimum level to ensure minimal inconvenience to users.
Enquiries:
Philemon Motshwaedi
Tel: 011 355 5105
Cell: 083 648 6870
E-mail: Philemon.Motshwaedi@gauteng.gov.za
