Would the elusive owner of the property situated in Human Street, Krugersdorp, please surface and summon the decency to take responsibility for his/ her property?
This property, formerly the orthodontist’s premises opposite Coronation Park, was considered to be of historical significance to our town but it has been allowed to deteriorate into a state of abject dilapidation. Every day and night, the house is being brutally plundered, vandalised and stripped by a gang of Nyaope-riddled criminals armed with axes, crowbars and various other crude implements of destruction.
The stolen pipes, corrugated iron roofing and window frames are then taken up to the illegal scrap metal dealers in Sivewright Street and exchanged for nyaope, which is considered legal tender by all parties concerned.
The frenzied criminal goings-on at that house pose a serious security threat to those of us who own the adjacent properties – we have been subjected to a crime wave as a result of this abandoned property. I have had an entire palisade fence stolen by these criminals, the cost of which I intend to claim from the absentee property owner, as soon as he/ she is located. This situation is proving to be a major headache for the police and private security companies, who have to be summoned regularly, not to mention a nightmare for the surrounding residents. Apart from the obvious security issues, this property poses a fire and health hazard and is an eyesore, visible from two main roads leading to our CBD.
Surely the municipality has the authority to force the owner of a structure that is in such a shockingly derelict state, to demolish said structure. Many years ago, a ‘condemned’ notice in front of a building meant that the structure would be razed to the ground within weeks. Perhaps this property was acquired by the owner via an inheritance. This might explain, but definitely not excuse, his/ her apparently careless attitude to the property in question. Invariably, properties which belong to absentee property owners become everyone else’s costly, unwanted burden.
There is also the likelihood of serious legal ramifications for the errant property owner, should anyone or their possessions come to harm as a result of said property owner’s negligence.
Should the missing owner not come to light, I strongly urge the relevant authorities to take the matter up as one of urgency, before one of the occupants of the adjacent properties is murdered as a result of the crime fest which prevails on this appallingly neglected property.
