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We can add the South African Air Force HQ to the list of things the government has now managed to stuff up, but as usual, it can be fixed for a few billion rands.

Defence Force union, Sandu, has described the conditions on the three underground floors of the five-level building as “inhumane, unsafe and illegal,” after a social media post showed sweltering temperatures of almost 40 degrees cooking employees and servers alike.

Only one of the six temperature control systems on the roof is currently in working order, and according to the Air Force, “Of the three systems that must control the temperature of the floors underground, two are operating at 50% capacity and one is completely unserviceable because it has reached the end of its life”.

Employees in the building are loyal to the military and conscientious. But they are exposed to “inhumane, unsafe and illegal” working conditions at the expense of their own health.

The Air Force HQ was built around 30 years ago and has 1,200 employees, one of whom posted a photo on social media of the temperature inside the building at 39.6°C. The poor whistleblower has since received a message warning that if he “spoke out again his family would not see him on his next birthday.  A taxi would force him off the road in a “hijacking” and he would not even make it to 1 Military Hospital’s casualty department.”

Wow.

The building’s air conditioning and water systems have been causing problems since they were commissioned three decades ago – especially when repairs had to be done in the underground floors.

An alternative building was offered as a solution several years ago, but the senior command declined to relocate. This building is no longer available, and the money has been allocated elsewhere. The heart of the Air Force thus remains at the bottom of the ‘The Hole’.

General Rudzani Maphwanya, the head of the Defence Force, sent out a memo to the entire Air Force in October reminding everyone of the consequences of “negligence in applying occupational safety legislation in the workplace”. This included prosecution and possible imprisonment for those who do not comply with the legislation.”

This weak attempt to solve the problem was followed by the installation of mobile air conditioners, which only recirculate old air and carbon monoxide. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this was one of the reasons why the building had to be temporarily closed as the viruses and old farts were circulated everywhere.

The Air Force has obtained a quote for components to install a better system, but this will be handled by the Defence Force works department, so the can’s been kicked to another office. Meanwhile, there will be regular ‘testing of the air and hygiene of air conditioners to ensure they are suitable for human use’. The Defence Force chief of logistics has also been tasked with ensuring the Defence Force buildings are all in compliance with occupational health and safety legislation.

More than three-quarters of the Air Force’s aircraft are currently unserviceable and useless thanks to an ever-tightening budget. The Air Force has however said that it could be fixed for R5 billion. For that amount, they should consider building a brand-new bunker. Go for it, we’ll pick up the tab.

There’s not much left to say about incompetence and its consequences, is there?

[source:citypress]