Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements says it will undertake enforcement action to deal with derelict buildings in eThekwini.
Human Settlements MEC Sipho “KK” Nkosi is expected to visit several buildings across Durban today that are of concern.
He is also expected to make a “major” announcement on what his department will do about hijacked buildings.
The department’s visit is part of efforts to clamp down on the hijacking and illegal occupation of buildings and to deal with people living in buildings that are in a poor condition.
The actions by the provincial government come just days after a devastating fire in a building in Johannesburg left more than 70 people dead.
Spokesperson for the MEC, Mlungisi Khumalo, said: “The MEC will visit several buildings in Durban that we have identified as a concern.
“The intention is to shut down some of the buildings that are of concern and to deal with the hijacking of the buildings and to deal with the risk of those buildings being used for criminal enterprises,” said Khumalo.
The chairperson of the human settlement and infrastructure service committee in eThekwini Municipality, Themba Mvubu, said as the political head of the committee, he was determined to ensure that what transpired in Johannesburg, did not happen in Durban.
“What happened in Johannesburg is a wake-up call for each and every city to address the problem. I will be meeting with the head of real estate in eThekwini in the coming days and will get a detailed briefing on the problem buildings in the City and who is in those buildings and the conditions of those buildings so we can start dealing with any issues there,” he said.
Mvubu said the eThekwini Municipality was serious about dealing with problem buildings.
He added that the City had already taken action to deal with the building called China Mall, which was damaged in a fire last year.
The municipality recently said its executive committee had approved the demolition of the structurally unstable building at a cost of R28 million.
“The owner has done nothing to demolish it and that's why the City recently voted to spend its money to demolish that building which had become an eyesore and caused traffic congestion and was a serious threat to life as it could collapse any moment,” he said.
Mvubu said the City had to take responsibility and deal with the threat posed by the building.
“That building is privately owned, but the community does not know that, all they know is that there is this building that is a threat, and could become a den of criminality. While other parties, like the DA, were against the City spending money to demolish the building, we voted for it because we know that court processes to force the owner to demolish it could take very long.”
DA councillor Mzamo Billy said the DA would write to the eThekwini city manager, Musa Mbhele, to request that a full audit of all the dilapidated and illegally occupied government and private buildings in the City be conducted as a matter of urgency.
“The DA appreciates that sometimes, due to poverty, desperation, and the ANC's failure to provide adequate housing for the poor, people illegally occupy buildings.
“This cannot be accepted as in many instances, such buildings become a haven for criminals and infringe on property owners’ rights,” he said.
The City said earlier this week that the number of identified problem buildings currently in the database was 88, adding that this number was not static as buildings were inspected continuously and subsequently removed once success had been declared.
It said 23 owners of hijacked buildings had gained control through problem-building interventions.