The demolition project that took the city by storm (or rather by bulldozer) is causing quite the stir – especially in the Central Business District where several illegal buildings have already been demolished.
The project, which kicked off in September, is picking up pace as more court orders were given to demolish illegal residential buildings.
During the past week, members of the community witnessed the demolition of buildings in Van Deventer and Montgomery Streets. The municipality in collaboration with the Building Section, Law Enforcement Unit, Red Ants and SAPS made good progress in clearing the structures.
“It is not something we enjoy doing – but it has to be done,” Building Control Officer, Mr Kobus Tenner, said on scene on Thursday October 30 as they prepared to demolish a house in Montgomery Street.
This house, like so many others scheduled for demolition, had several illegal rooms built on.
“These people are making profit at the expense of the city and after so many warnings and fines, the only option left is to demolish,” another member of the Building Section stated on scene.
There were allegations that the house in Montgomery Street belonged to someone in the municipality. The city’s administrator, Mr Theo van Vuuren, confirmed these allegations saying that the building indeed belonged to a municipal official. Although the person was not made known, the municipality is adamant that no one will be excluded. And no exceptions are made for anyone guilty of building illegally in eMalahleni.
With the Red Ants speeding things along, the illegal ‘guesthouses’ were quickly evacuated and stood ready for demolition.
On Friday, October 31 several wooden ‘Wendy’ houses were removed from a property in Van Deventer Street. The owner of the property was warned several times and fined heavily for the electricity that was bypassed after the municipality discovered the many illegal connections.
Without regard to the safety of the people renting the homes, cables were connected and extended to provide each wooden hut with power. Members of the municipality also pointed out how dangerous it would be if it should rain.
The wooden houses were disassembled and removed from the premises.
Most of the residents commenting about the demolition project on Facebook seemed positive about the progress made in the city, whilst there were still some that were of the opinion that demolishing houses was ‘not the way to go’.
Marion Chueu-Tsie stated on the administrator’s Facebook page: “Why demolish when you can fine, enforce payment terms and compliance. They are running a business therefore they will have no excuse not to pay. The municipality can use that money to finance the current debt, as soon as your administration term comes to an end the houses will be build again. Currently you are not gaining any capital by demolishing the structures instead you are spending it. It is not a secret that eMalahleni has big challenges with accommodation and that’s why those houses were built. Use this demand gap to your advantage by penalising this people and enforce payment terms, have no tolerance for their outstanding accounts. Demolish only if your inspectors doesn’t approve the quality of the workmanship on the buildings.”
Van Vuuren responded to this statement, saying: ‘We do need more housing, but by illegally building across the building lines, putting 50 people on a system designed for eight; for water, toilets and electricity, causing congestion, noise, etc. in an area where the other people have invested money to stay in a single residential area, is not right. I don’t want to break, but sometimes that is the only option as people, by just doing what they want without following the law, are affecting the lives of others.’
