eThekwini metro fails to comply with ‘Problem Building’ bylaws

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini says it is shocked to note that since the introduction of the ‘Problem Building’ bylaw in March 2016, and the subsequent calls by the DA for its enforcement, the municipality has failed to enforce the bylaw, Highway Mail reports.

Local councillor Marlaine Nair, the DA’s eThekwini whip for economic development and planning, said the DA was concerned that instead of implementing the bylaw, the metro has been using iTrump (inner Thekwini Regeneration and Urban Management Programme), which is an area-based management (ABM) department for the inner city.

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It facilitates and coordinates the Problem Buildings programme with various line departments, including the SAPS and the department of home affairs.

“iTrump is failing miserably in this regard. The ABM, which faces massive human resource challenges, is mainly focused on the inner city, and has therefore, to date, only been able to tackle seven out of the 45 identified problem buildings outside the inner city,” said Nair.

She said questions posed by the DA at the last council meeting revealed there were 95 problem buildings in the inner city and 45 in the wider municipal area.

“Not a single building of the total 140 buildings identified have been declared problem buildings. The city has stated that there is no institutional home for the bylaws, and to date, no interdicts have been applied to ban new occupants from entering buildings that have been identified as problem buildings, and no applications for evictions have been made in terms of the Problem Buildings bylaw, and a number of problem buildings belong to eThekwini Municipality,” said Nair.

In her 2018 budget speech, Mayor Zandile Gumede expressed how serious the metro was about inner city regeneration, ridding the city of crime and grime, and vowed they would not hesitate to “expropriate” bad buildings.

“We call on the mayor to put her words into action. The municipality has a legal obligation to implement the bylaw as the Full Council, in which executive and legislative powers are vested in, has duly passed it,” concluded Nair.

eThekwini acting head of communications Mandla Nsele responded to Nair’s allegations by explaining that the metro’s multidisciplinary bylaw enforcement conducted monthly citywide blitz operations.

The team is made up of metro units such as the metro police, electricity, Urban Management Zone, fire and emergency services, water and sanitation and business licensing.

Inner City eThekwini Regeneration and Urban Management Programme (iTrump) senior manager Hoosen Moolla said despite long ongoing legal battles to close down buildings in the metro, the team was determined to do its best.

“We are currently regularly profiling more than 90 buildings in the City. Since the implementation of the bylaw we have issued a number of summons to transgressors, closed down and forced landlords to revamp their buildings,” he said.

Profiling entails regular raids to a building where the supervisor and owner are fined for contraventions. The information gathered at the raid is used in court when legal action is taken against the building owner.

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