The Opposition Spokesman for Housing, Mr Charles Bruzon, has stated that the system in place for the repair of lifts within government housing estates is “cumbersome and inefficient”.
The Opposition Spokesman for Housing, Mr Charles Bruzon, has stated that the
system in place for the repair of lifts within government housing estates is
“cumbersome and inefficient”. Mr Bruzon arrives at that conclusion and supports his
opinion (if indeed it is his real opinion) by reference to accusations that are simply not
true. The Minister for Housing, Fabian Vinet, is happy to yet again correct Mr Bruzon
and to appraise the general public of the truth.
Mr Bruzon alleged that tenants at Referendum House had last week had to wait “for
six hours for someone to come and repair the lifts”. This was not the case. A report
on the breakdown of a lift at Referendum House was first received at the Ministry for
Housing’s Reporting Office at 10.34am and a maintenance person on duty was in
attendance and addressing the fault within 40 minutes. The lift was repaired and back
in full working order by 2pm, three and a half hours after the report was made by
tenants (and not six hours as Mr Bruzon states). In any case, while it may necessarily
have taken a few hours for the fault to be repaired, it is simply not true that anyone
had to wait six, five, four, three or even two hours for “someone to come”! That
“someone” was at the scene less than one hour after the first report was made.
Mr Bruzon also explained that once a report is received at the Ministry for Housing,
this is then forwarded “to Madrid who in turn forward the report to the nearest centre
in Algeciras so that they can send someone to Gibraltar to repair the lift.” This is the
evidence that the GSLP/Liberal Alliance provide to prove that the system is
“cumbersome and inefficient”. Government does not understand the relevance of the
precise geographical location where a telephone call is made to and received. It is
immaterial whether a phone call is made to Madrid, Manchester, Milan or Montagu
Gardens, as long as instructions are quickly processed and maintenance personnel
are swiftly dispatched – to suggest that because a phone call is received in Madrid,
that in itself slows things down is not only petty and silly but also untrue. Otis, the
contractor that covers lift maintenance for the Ministry for Housing (and others), has
its main call centre in Madrid, although this is directly accessed by calling a Gibraltar
telephone number. Mr Bruzon is wrong when he states that personnel are then sent
to Gibraltar from Algeciras. Otis has three personnel based permanently in Gibraltar
and so they are always readily available locally.
Contrary to what Mr Bruzon alleges, therefore, the system in place for the repair of
lifts within government estates is neither cumbersome nor inefficient. Lifts – including
those many brand new lifts installed by the GSD government and which have
transformed the lives of the elderly and sick – can break down, but the system in
place to enable their repair is extremely simple and extremely efficient. Mr Bruzon, as
is now customary, may wish to issue a further statement where he shifts the focus
away from his original complaint or where he alleges that government has resorted to
personal attacks. This is the usual tactic employed by the GSLP/Liberals to try and
cloud the real issue. The fact remains that once again, in his desire to criticise the
government, Mr Bruzon has preferred to exaggerate and mislead rather than tell the
truth.
