Durban businessmen launch high court action against City Manager

TWO Durban businessmen have launched a high court application to force eThekwini Municipality to clean up the area outside their businesses in Matthews Meyiwa (Stamford Hill) Road.

Cuan Cronje and Arthur Limbouris who fork out around R1-million in rates each year say the filth, litter and vagrants who congregate in the area are not only impacting negatively on businesses along the road, but are also scaring customers away from the area.

Speaking to Berea Mail this week, Cronje said the court order will ensure DSW cleans up around their businesses on a regular basis, in an acceptable routine, and Metro Police remove vagrants which have become a nuisance in the area.

“The vagrants, sometimes around 30 of them at a time, sleep on the ramp outside my business and use it as a toilet. The smell of human faeces is terrible. Every morning we have to clean up the mess at our own expense. If Metro Police come and take the vagrants away, they are back the next day. At one stage they built a shelter and we had to remove furniture from the pavements at our expense. It is really unacceptable that we have to pay such high rates for this. The court order will ensure that if the municipality doesn’t act, they will be held in contempt of court,” he said.

He said the vagrants also attracted a criminal element to the area. His business had suffered theft of air-conditioners with five being stolen last December. The cost to replace these amounted to R160 000. Cronje said a member of his staff had also been attacked and stabbed by a vagrant.

“We hired an armed security company from 2008 to 2010, which worked on a 24 hour rotation, but it ended up costing us too much. We have invested too much in our buildings and can’t just sit back and let this carry on,” he said.

Cronje said collectively, the businesses in the road attracted other factory shops in the area which had sparked a popular shopping culture.

“It is such a pity as Stamford Hill Road is a mess. Holiday makers are just not coming here any more as it is messy and people don’t feel safe. I am embarrassed,” he said.

He said litter collecting in a drain behind his business also caused flooding issues in the road.

“When it rains, the litter blocks the drain and the road floods. Water flows down the road like a river and runs into buildings. I have raised the level of my entrances and the alley at my own expense. DSW should be cleaning up the area,” he said.

Tozi Mthethwa, head of communications at eThekwini Municipality said the city could not comment on a matter that was before the court.

SAVE OUR BEREA

Cheryl Johnson from Save Our Berea said the civic organisation fully supported Cuan Cronje and Arthur Limbouris in their court application, the first-of-its-kind against the city manager and judging by the response on their Facebook page, many of eThekwini’s ratepayers agree.

“Here we have another case directly related to mismanagement and lack of service delivery by the city, obliging ratepayers to seek relief from the courts. This must be of great concern to ratepayers. It certainly is to us, although not surprising, because we have had first-hand experience of why this seems to be happening,” she said.

Johnson said not too long ago eThekwini Council announced it would spend an additional R12,8 million over and above the legal department budget of R17,547 million. Legal expenses that were R600 000 in 2012 are now R5,9 million and rising.

“We basically pay the salaries and expenses for the City and in any well-run city, one would accept that the City would be involved in defending our interests in court when the need arises. But what we are now seeing on a regular basis, are ratepayers having to resort to the courts at great personal expense because the city refuses to listen to them, and which the City then defends at our cost. This comes about because of arrogance on behalf of City officials who have no real understanding of accountability and that they are guardians of our interests and finances,” said Johnson.

NICOLE GRAHAM

VAGRANCY, cleaning and solid waste, whoonga, sex workers and matters involving the Parks Department are all social ills suffered by residents in Ward 33, Glenwood and, according to councillor Nicole Graham, things are just getting worse.

“To put it plainly, my ward is filthy. The Davenport area and lower Glenwood are a complete mess, with dumping next to every bin and rubbish is strewn across the pavements because of vagrants digging through bins and rubbish. To the best of my knowledge, there is still no additional enforcement capacity within DSW to focus on the central area. This was promised at a meeting held recently,” she said.

Graham said there were beggars on every corner and car guards had become were aggressive, harassed people and exacerbated crime.

“I know Metro have included our area in their morning sweeps but the outcomes have not been sufficient. I appreciate the assistance and responsiveness of Metro officers that I deal with, but it has not been successful in resolving the issues. We now have a situation where no verge cutting has taken place and no weed spraying is currently happening. I really think this area, as well as some of the neighbouring wards that suffer the same fate, urgently need some kind of intervention. Property prices are falling and it has become unpleasant to live in this mess and filth. I am inundated with complaints as one of Durban’s prime residential neighbourhoods and rates bases declines rapidly,” said Graham.

She said an urban management zone, with some kind of security, as well as additional cleaners was desperately needed.