Unoccupied New Germany flats demolished

AFTER years of being vacant and guarded around the clock by security guards, the Harmony Heights flats were demolished.

The 25 double storey flats which were named the ‘Ghost Town’ by the residents were built at the New Germany buffer strip at Harmony Heights, between Clermont and New Germany.

The land on the Buffer Strip is now standing with piles of concrete building rubble after the buildings were completely demolished recently.

”The incomplete structure was left neglected and no one was living in there. The people who had previously lived in the flats were moved out due to the shoddy work done and it was discovered the structures were not sound and could pose a danger to the people living in them,” said New Germany CPF chairman, Tony da Canha.

“The condition of the incomplete flats was an absolute disgrace. There were no side railings along the stairs down to the ground floor, no electricity, no plumbing and no water,” explained da Canha.

Neighbours were however, concerned that the incomplete empty flats had become an eyesore.

Da Canha said he cannot comprehend or even understand how people were given permission to move into those incomplete flats in the first place when it was discovered that the first floor concrete slabs were not up to standard and needed to be demolished at an additional cost of about R1.2-million to the municipality which was costing the ratepayers.

“It is very clear that no care or consideration was ever given regarding the safety standards from the engineers when the flats were built. Da Canha asked if the building plans and the buildings were ever checked by building inspectors while the construction was going on.

He added that this is an absolute disgrace as the money has been wasted.

“After many years, the city has allowed the buildings to stand vacant and exorbitant amounts of money has been paid to a security company to protect the empty buildings,” he said.

Tozi Mthethwa, eThekwini Municipality head of communications, said there are two projects that have been undertaken to construct Harmony Heights.

“The first was done in 1997/8 by a company that went under liquidation prior to completion of the units in 1999. An application for rectification of the units was approved by the Department of Human Settlements totalling R 8 200 000 and the balance of the project cost has been added by eThekwini Municipality as the current contract value is R 10 261 038.

Mthethwa said between 2009/10, the community through the ward councillor requested that the Human Settlements Department assist in the completion of the units and the project.

“Before the new contractor could take over the construction, a professional team undertook structural integrity tests, which the structures failed. In the interest of safety, it was then decided that the old units needed to be demolished and rebuilt completely.”

She said a new application that will cater for demolition and the construction of new units was submitted to KwaZulu-Natal’s Human Settlements Department.

“The project will resume as soon as the funding is approved by the province. This approval is expected to undergo the administrative processes,” explained Mthethwa.