Bradley Lester, Musgrave Park, Diep River
Tenants from Musgrave Park have been left confused and irritated after hearing that no visitors are allowed into the complex, under any circumstances.
Letters were handed out to tenants in January advising them that visitors (family members) may be allowed to visit if they have an authorisation letter provided by Communicare. This process failed many tenants as authorisation letters were seldom provided. There were two occasions when I requested authorisation letters for visits, and I am still waiting for those letters, even though the requested visit date has passed.
Recently, tenants have been told that letters are no longer applicable and no visitors are allowed. Tenants have not yet received any such amendment to their original letter from January.
Rules and regulations of Lockdown 3 do not prohibit visitors at your place of dwelling. President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned in his last update on television that social gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed. He did not say that you may not have visitors at your place of dwelling. He did not say that visitors are not allowed at housing complexes and/or flats. The tenants of Musgrave Park would like to know how this decision was made by Communicare? What did they base their decision on and is this lawful? The people who made this decision do not reside at Musgrave Park, so they can enjoy visits from family and close friends in their homes, but they are telling us that we cannot do exactly what they are doing in our homes. This is really not fair.
Musgrave Park used to be a retirement village, i.e. you had to be 55 and older to apply for accommodation. This has now changed, and it is now known as a community complex where anyone older than 18 may apply for accommodation should they meet the minimum requirements. So it is not a retirement complex anymore, therefore the clause “older persons’ residential facilities” under “Controlled visits by members of the public” of Lockdown 3 rules and regulations, do not apply for Musgrave Park
The tenants have a right to receive visitors, just like anyone else who lives outside of Musgrave Park, so I really cannot understand why Musgrave Park has enforced this ruling without any consultation.
Communicare spokesperson Megan Lennert responds: Communicare has managed access to all its apartment complexes to ensure compliance with Covid-19 regulations.
We have requested that tenants inform us about visitors so that we have a record in the event of a Covid-19 outbreak at any complexes. This allows for tracing contacts. These measures were put in place to ensure the safety of our tenants.
In isolated cases, some authorisation to visit was delayed. Communicare has apologised to Mr Lester for this.
We are reviewing the access control measures we have in place to ensure it is a smooth process, that it complies with Covid-19 regulations and enhances tenant safety during the pandemic.