The two backrooms that were demolished belonged to Boksburg resident, Abshalom Ndobe.
The rooms were allegedly illegally built a few years ago.
Ekurhuleni’s Building Control Unit manager, Baby-girl Chuene says the rooms were built without an approved building plan.
“According to the National Building Regulation, before building any structure, one must get municipal permission, and Ndobe did not comply with this,” she explains.
Chuene says building laws are put in place to ensure that structures are safe for people in and around them.
“You don’t just decide to build and then build, you have to get an architect to draw up a plan which you then submit for municipal approval.”
Ndobe says at first he was not aware of the procedures and the necessary requirements to follow when building a structure.
“I just built the rooms to make extra money by renting them out to tenants,” he says.
Ndobe says in 2009 he received a court order from the metro and only followed up on it once or twice.
He says because the case extended for a period of time, he thought it had fell through, and that he was now in the clear.
“I was surprised to get a call that the rooms were being demolished,” says Ndobe.
Ndobe says he is not going to rebuild the two rooms.
Chuene points out that Ndobe was issued with a contravention notice in 2009, and given an opportunity to rectify his mistake.
“Due to his failure to comply, we then had to forward the matter to our legal department to issue a demolition order,” she says.
“Dilapidated structures, and abandoned buildings, are risky and unsafe, and are usually hotspots for drug trafficking, crime and prostitution.
“This year we issued 24 court orders. Eight of these decided to comply and submitted plans to us which were approved. We demolished three buildings, while the rest of the buildings were demolished by their owners.”
Chuene encourages owners to ensure that they take care of their properties and comply with all necessary building regulations.
Asked when the infamous abandoned and dilapidated building at 39 Market Street would be demolished, Chuene responded by saying that the municipality is still in the process of procuring a service provider contractor. – @TumeloBoksburg
