A digital thermometer in SAAF headquarters. This photo was taken in February when air conditioning failed for the first time this year.
Just over seven months after the SA Air Force (SAAF) told all and sundry air-conditioning at its headquarters was US (unserviceable), the same malaise appears to have hit again.
The official line, as per a statement issued and attributable to Brigadier General Mongezi Kweta, is “air conditioning and ventilation systems have been dysfunctional at its headquarters building in Dequor (sic) Road”. This “situation” made the building “uninhabitable”.
SAAF leadership, according to the one-star general, “took full charge of the situation as it views the health, medical condition and safety of members as matters of urgency. A collective approach and interim contingency measures are being utilised to deal with the situation”.
The “dysfunctional” climate control equipment comes at a time when Gauteng is experiencing heatwave conditions with temperatures in the greater Tshwane area hitting the upper thirties on the Centigrade scale last week. The SA Weather Service (SAWS) is predicts 32 deg C for today (Monday, 10 October) followed by 30, 31, 31 and 32 for the rest of the working week
A directive, instructing air force personnel working at headquarters, to “reduce their footprint” to meet requirements of personnel with underlying
medical conditions caused by lack of “clean oxygen” and extreme heat – “a situation currently experienced in the building”.
Along with the directive an instruction and “various contingency plans” have been issued to address the matter on a temporary basis, while long term measures are solicited from SA Military Health Service (SAHMS) specialists.
There is no indication of when normal service for “air conditioning and ventilation systems” is expected to return or who is responsible for ensuring climate control measures at SAAF headquarters operate satisfactorily.
When climate control went US in February, Sandu (SA National Defence Union) said it would seek legal advice on occupational health hazards of working indoors without decent ventilation or air-conditioning.
The February climate control breakdown, according to Sandu national secretary Pikkie Greeff, was partially solved by sending personnel home at lunch time on a daily basis with the “bare minimum” remaining at work in “unbearable conditions”.
