CONCERNS have been raised over two projects in the Bulwer area which have been completed but are currently standing vacant.
Ward councillor Mmabatho Tembe and CPF chair, Heather Rorick, have both been approached by concerned residents enquiring when the Bulwer Park coffee shop would open and when the new substation in Clark Road will be operational.
Residents in Bulwer and Glenwood are continually plagued by costly outages despite the fact that the new power station was built to help relieve these issues.
In August 2018, Tembe reported that there had been at least 13 outages she was aware of since June 2018 and approched the eThekwini Electricity Department to investigate the cause.
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She said the construction of the Bulwer substation, meant to bring relief for other smaller substations and to curb outages in the area, had been completed a year ago, but it was still not operational.
“I have been told the Department still had to put finishing touches on the substation and was still waiting on machine parts. I have not been given a concrete answer as to the exact date it will be up and running,” she said.
Rorick said many residents had criticised the city for the delay especially after the rush to have it built.
“The people living in the flats next to the site had no choice in the matter, however now this monstrosity stands there, not yet in operation, when they could’ve tried to sell their flats before it was built,” she said.
Rorick also expressed concern that money was being spent on providing security at the substation and the Bulwer Park coffee shop, which has been standing empty for two years and that money would need to be found to maintain the garden and toilets at the coffee shop while it stood empty.
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“Residents are concerned that this is taking so long and I am worried about vandalism,” she said, adding that the toilets could be used by people using the outdoor gym while the building was not being utilised.
Tembe said no one from Supply Chain Management (SCM) had replied to her queries regarding the coffee shop.
“From what I last heard, the tender process was ongoing. I query all the time when the building will be utilised as it is susceptible to vandalism or occupation by vagrants. It is a waste of ratepayers’ money to have something like this standing empty. I have also requested that the toilets are left open for park users, but my request was denied,” she said.
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