PROPERTIES that are being utilised illegally in terms of Land Use Management bylaws and those which are neglected by owners have become the focus of attention for Ward 33 councillor, Mmabatho Tembe.
Tembe said while some of the properties that were operating in contravention to bylaws had been reported, there was others that had still not been identified.
“Properties under enforcement are still a huge problem in the area, as activity on these properties is still continuing, such as those illegally zoned or used as brothels. I have asked the Land Use Management staff and enforcement officials to report back on properties that have been identified and reported. The problem is that there isn’t much feedback regarding these properties once enforcement starts, and it is left up to the courts and is out of the councillor’s hands,” she said.
Commenting on the number of Land Use Management (LUM) issues, ward 31 councillor, Chris Pappas, said the city had lost the battle against land use management.
He said good planning and sustainable development could only happen when there was sufficient, but not suffocating, control over land use.
“The eThekwini Municipality is unable to control development and implement the various laws, rules and by-laws regulating land use, building and development in the city. The problem is four-fold, including lack of enforcement, an overburdened justice system, under-resourced and undertrained departments and corruption and maladministration. Poor political oversight of the Development Planning Department is also hampering the efficient running of the department,” he said.
He said too few politicians had the necessary skills and knowledge to do sufficient oversight of the department which lead to a lack of accountability and poor policy direction.
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“The result is that the land use management system in the city has not evolved to keep up with the demands of a modern city. When officials from LUM or a building inspector attempt to resolve issues they are hamstrung by unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy or are let down by other departments such as Metro Police or the municipal courts,” he said.
Councillor Tembe urged residents to report properties they suspect were being utilised illegally to her.
“People need to take an interest in their community. I also encourage residents to report uncared for properties,” she said, adding that she had received complaints from a resident about a property in Prospect Road which has been overgrown for many years.
The resident, Isabella Whittaker, said the property in question has been a problem for many years. She said her son had even tried cutting back the overgrowth at the rear of the property himself on a number of occasions, but was unable to keep up with the ever-spreading bush. “There seem to be people living in the house, which is falling apart and the garden is totally overgrown. I have tried to find the owner of the house to have something done, but have had no joy. I have also tried phoning the municipality and have heard that they are in charge of maintaining the next door property, but nothing has been done for a long time. It is a real eyesore,” she said.
Tembe confirmed that she had received numerous complaints about the property and would forward these to Environmental Health officials to get the property owners to clean up and maintain the property.”
Residents can email Councillor Tembe regarding properties being utilised illegally as well as properties which owners are not maintaining. Email: ward33@ethekwini.org.
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