Outcry as welfare office is closed
Community outcry as welfare office is closed down, employees are working on the pavement as the building is declared unsafe.
THOSE residents, including pensioners, who use the services of the Ngwelezane based Lower Umfolozi Welfare Offices have been left in the lurch following the closing of the building by the Department of Labour.
Life is also tough for employees of the Department of Social Development who have been compelled to do their work from the pavement, while others have been displaced to offices without the basics, such as computers.
According to the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers’ (NUPSAW) Regional Secretary, Mduduzi Ntuli, the building was declared inhabitable by the Department of Labour two weeks ago, after his union had raised concern about the safety and the conditions of the building.
The Ngwelezane office services people who come from as far afield as Ntambanana, KwaMthethwa, Mevamhlophe and Empangeni.
‘Last year, we presented a memorandum of grievances to the Department of Social Development in the Ulundi Cluster to register our concern raised by employees regarding working conditions and the safety of the building at Lower Umfolozi Service Offices, Ngwelezane Place of Safety and Kwabadala old age home.
‘We also demanded that a new concrete fence be erected as the staff feel insecure working in these offices.
‘They replied to us saying the matters we raised needed to be discussed in the presence of all other unions. We then took up the matter with the Department of Labour which gave a seven-day ultimatum to respond to our grievances.
‘The Department of Labour requested that the Ngwelezane building be inspected by a competent structural engineer to determine its safety and whether it complies with National Building Regulations, which they failed to do, as a result, work in this office was suspended,’ said Ntuli.
Ntuli said his main concern was that this issue has not been reported in the media as scores of people continue flocking to these offices without knowing that they have been closed.
South African Social Security Agencies (SASSA) Senior Communication Manager, Vusi Mahaye, said the matter was out of their hands, as they were not the owners of the building.
‘All we have done is to provide mobile trucks for our employees to conduct their business there to assist our people. These mobile trucks are accessible even to people who are using wheelchairs as they have lifts.
‘We are trying our best to get an alternative accommodation for our employees As you know, that the office was closed by the Department of Labour,’ said Mahaye.
Asked for comment, Mvuselelo Khumalo, an inspector of the Department of Labour in Richards Bay referred the Zululand Observer to his manager, Thulani Mncube, who refused to comment, saying he knew no one by the name of Mvuselelo Khumalo working for his department.
