BTV complex defects threaten structure

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday May 2, 2011 00:00

 

While it is business as usual at the Mass Media Complex a report has indicated that there are cracks in the ceilings, corridor slabs and cable duct panes on the floor. According to the report, leakages from the roof have caused damage to the floors and equipment with paint peeling off the walls.  Because of the numerous leaks from the roof and air-conditioning system, a number of ceiling panels have either broken or fallen off.

The complex building is also infested with termites that have caused damage to furniture and floor skirting, notably in the library room. Auditors are baffled as to how this could have happened, given that officers work here on a daily basis.

A constant flow of underground water throughout the basement is drained from time to time, as the water level rises. The auditors however say they have not been able to appreciate the implication of threats to the continued structural integrity of the buildings from the permanent underground water seepage.

According to the report, these defects and weaknesses have been evident for some time but have only been dealt with through routine maintenance work, such as filling up of cracks created by shifting columns.

Constucted by a Chinese company and hailed as state of the art, the Mass Media complex cost government over P100 million and has been desribed as one of the best mass media structures in the world. Initially indications that all was not well started in 2005, when the state of the art Btv Amphitheatre, initially designed to host top notch outdoor shows was closed down due to structural defects.

However, people never imagined that the problem was much bigger than that.  While the Amphitheatre remains closed, other serious structural defects continue to crop up in the whole mass media complex building. The Department of Buildings and Engineering Services has conducted their own assessment of the problem at the Mass Media complex and have noted that this could be a manifestation of a much greater problem than is immediately apparent. A report has since been submitted to the ministry headquarters to act without delay.