An inspection was conducted on 19 December by the City of Johannesburg’s health inspectors and Mandela was given a 21-day notice to clean up the property on 5th Street. Ward 73 Councillor Marcelle Ravid said there was no response to that notice and the property had not been cleaned up.
Ravid said, “A final seven-day notice has been issued with a quotation from a contractor by the City of Johannesburg to clean the property and to take all the vegetation away.” She said it would cost about R15 000 to clean up the property and the bill would be sent to the owner of the property. “Whether that gets paid or not, the City will have to deal with,” she added.
On the property the weeds are knee high, trees are overgrown and the house is barely visible from the gate due to the overgrowth.
Ravid said the property had been abandoned for “at least two years” and she had reported it before, following numerous complaints by concerned and affected residents.
Neighbours had to put a lock on the front gate to prevent vagrants from invading the property, Ravid said. She was not aware of any homeless people living on the property, but it was common for them invade abandoned properties.
North Eastern Tribune contacted the Mandela family spokesperson, Thato Mmereki who said he did not speak on behalf of Zindzi.
Abandoned properties are common in Houghton and surrounding suburbs. “There are health and security implications,” said Ravid, “It lowers property values in the area, neighbours complain about rat infestation among many other issues.”
It is unclear why the property has been abandoned and the state of the property was in contravention of the city’s public health bylaws.
Zindzi is the daughter of the late former state president, Nelson Mandela and his ex-wife Winnie Madikizela Mandela.
VIDEO: Ward 73 Councillor Marcelle Ravid on the abandoned Mandela house
