DESPITE media reports to the contrary and an expose by Carte Blanche on the state of some of Durban's heritage homes which have been left to decay, eThekwini Municipality has programmes and projects in place whereby derelict buildings are being addressed.
eThekwini's head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa said the city had, through its Safer Cities and iTrump identified several derelict buildings over the years which had deteriorated into unhygienic hovels and become a breeding ground for criminals. She said the programme had initially started off as a 'bad buildings' project, but was later renamed 'better buildings'. Areas covered by the project included Umgeni Road, Albert Park, the inner CBD, Warwick Avenue and the beachfront. The programme was set up to address issues of crime, bylaw enforcement and derelict buildings.
Mthethwa said the annual operational budget to deal with sealing off buildings and court action was approximately R2m. “The context in which the better buildings project was started was that the Municipality identified that the demographics in the City had
changed considerably. As a result, there was an influx of migrants in search of employment and better living conditions and the demand for residential properties increased,” she said.
“The better buildings project’s primary objectives is to identify the buildings that are used for illegal activities, identify buildings that are badly maintained, managed and are in contravention of municipal bylaws and property laws of the country and identify
buildings that pose a serious health and security risk to the public.
Through this project the City aims to turn around the look and feel of these buildings and ensure that they do not pose any health or safety risks. However, closing down a building is a last resort once all legal avenues have been exhausted,” she said.
“Some derelict buildings are owned by people who live abroad, some are leased or sub-let to a number of tenants, some have been ‘hijacked’ and some are owned by people who are deceased. Therefore, the City cannot apply a blanket approach in dealing with some of these complex cases,” she said.
Mthethwa said steps were followed when addressing buildings. A basic profile of the building and combined site inspection with officials from various line departments (Health, Fire, Metro Police) is done. This is followed by a full profile of the building, looking at the demographics of the people living there. Notices are then issued, followed by a follow-up inspection and the issuing of a Section 56 notice, a written notice as a method of securing attendance of the accused in the magistrate’s court.
Mthethwa said the statistics of problematic buildings from January to April 2014 included 12 buildings which have been profiled, 45 notices have been served, there have been three successes where buildings have either been rehabilitated, sealed or demolished. Fifty-one buildings have been targeted and 59 undocumented people have been arrested and deported.
“Some of the cases are delayed by court processes and this is an area the Municipality has no control over. Monthly joint operations are held with SAPS, the Department of Home Affairs, Metro Police and other municipal line departments targeting illegal
water and electricity connections in buildings, undocumented persons and crime in general,” said Mthethwa. She said Safer Cities and iTrump Unit programmes are ongoing and are integrated with other Citywide programmes including the Clean my City programme, which is a multi-disciplinary campaign that addresses various issues that include by-law infringements, derelict buildings, litter, pollution and social ills.
“The Municipality would like to appeal to property owners to ensure that their properties are well maintained as derelict buildings impact negatively on the surrounding neighbourhood. Residents can also report any illegal activity to the SAPS and Metro Police,” she said. The 24-hour call centre number residents can contact is 031 361 0000 (Emergency Services, Metro Police, Fire and Disaster Management).
Despite the city's lengthy response to the action it was taking in respect of decaying properties, it did not address the specific properties in 9th Avenue and Lambert Road in Morningside and the property in Problem Mkhize Road as requested by Berea Mail. These properties do not appear to fall into the areas covered by the Better Buildings project.
