Revamped old magistrate’s court a ‘white elephant’

A few years ago, the City of Ekurhuleni spent R4.2m to renovate the former Boksburg Magistrate’s Court building on Church Street after the structure had become derelict following its decades of neglect.

The rationale behind the revamp seemed like a good idea as the metro said it intended to convert the property on Church Street into a youth empowerment centre, with municipal offices and a training centre.

However, today the historic building stands empty and surrounded by overgrown grass, shrubs and trees. As a result of neglect, it’s again gradually falling into rack and ruin.

When the Boksburg Advertiser recently visited the building, on-site security said the building had been closed since it was left unoccupied more than a year ago.

Historic building stripped

Vandals and thieves had, before the renovation which started in late 2017 and finished in 2018, stripped the building of its wall fitting, doors, windows and roof. It was also invaded by vagrants who turned the facility into their home.

At the time, the metro cited lack of funding as the reason for leaving the building unattended, enabling it to go to the dogs.

Funding was subsequently secured and the building was renovated, yet the facility commissioned for community upliftment is again left unoccupied, vulnerable and unmaintained.

Wasteful expenditure

Derek Fox, one of the locals who has been vocal about neglected council buildings in Boksburg, questioned the city’s real estate division’s rationale behind spending taxpayers’ money on renovating buildings and then allowing them to fall into ruin.

“The question is, who authorises the tenders for revamping buildings that fail to even achieve their intended primary purposes?

“Look at the nearby Boksburg Lake boathouse. The metro spent about R4m to revamp it, but it’s failed to raise any income from it. It’s been deteriorating into an eyesore since it was renovated.

“Taxpayers’ money is continually being squandered on renovating white elephants in Boksburg, Benoni and other parts of the metro.”

Fox said he can’t understand why the government is spending large amounts of money on renting offices when its own are standing unused and falling apart.

He suggested the old Boksburg Magistrate’s Court building could be converted into a museum that the community of Boksburg desperately needs, instead of leaving it open to vandalism.

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Budget

Clr Tebogo Masenya, DA spokesperson for Real Estate in the CoE, also weighed in on the poorly maintained council-owned building in the city.

He said his party has been calling on the MMC for Real Estate to ensure there is a proper maintenance and mitigation plan to restore municipal-owned buildings and avoid further decay.

However, whenever they raise this issue they are told of insufficient budget.

“We have been calling for an audit on the state of city-owned buildings across the metro and a report to ascertain the condition of these buildings as many have not undergone routine maintenance and continue to fall into a state of disrepair.

“Many Ekurhuleni officials across the city have reported the unhygienic and poor conditions of these buildings – with many believing certain buildings fail the health regulation code and should be condemned,” said Masenya.

Metro responds

According to the metro, the city’s Youth Directorate team was evacuated from the building because of health and safety concerns following damage believed to have been caused by the Christmas Eve gas tanker blast in nearby Plantation.

“As soon as the facility is repaired, it will be used to accommodate the youth programmes and other identified needs,” said metro spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini.

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