Minister Macpherson and Mayor Xaba tackle poor buildings in Durban – The Mail & Guardian

Minister of Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson and eThekwini Mayor Cyrical Xama at a press conference to unveil their plans to deal with dodgy buildings. Photo: Supplied

MDirector of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson and Thekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba are forming a joint technical team to tackle Durban’s ‘bad buildings’.

Macpherson told reporters on Monday he wanted to “support” Xaba to revitalise the town.

“The key to the success of this Government of National Unity (GNU) and my department is to work with all levels of government, national, provincial and local, to unlock the potential of state assets for use in the public interest, and to transform South Africa into a construction site,” Macpherson said.

He said KwaZulu-Natal had the potential to become a beacon of hope and that he was “committed to ensuring that our public resources are used for the public good in eThekwini”.

“Following a meeting with Mayor Xaba… we agreed to establish a major joint technical team between the City and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to address a number of poor buildings in the city, to ensure that state-owned properties pay their taxes on time and to assist in the rejuvenation of Durban’s city centre.”

The task team meets monthly and reports to Xaba and Macpherson every two months on progress.

Macpherson said his department was already taking action on the abandoned and partly hijacked Excelsior Court building in Berea and the possible redevelopment of the former police barracks in the city, while work to ensure fire safety compliance at the Durban Magistrates Court was almost complete.

“The task team will devise formal strategies and plans to accelerate investment in state-owned assets and attract additional investment into the inner city, while monitoring interventions to ensure they deliver the desired results.”

This would aid Xaba’s efforts to restore and rebuild the city, “to ensure it meets the needs of the long-suffering residents of this once glorious city,” he said.

“The reality is that KZN can only work if eThekwini works. It is too big to fail and we are fully committed to playing our part.”

According to Macpherson, residents told his department that one of their biggest problems was the inconsistent water supply, with some going without water for a week or more.

“Without water, eThekwini will not function or survive as an investment and tourism destination. The department, through Infrastructure South Africa, is committed to working with the city to assist in the development of water infrastructure so that we can solve this problem once and for all.”

Infrastructure South Africa was established in 2020 under the Presidency as a central point of contact for accelerated infrastructure investments.

Macpherson said he looks forward to working with Xaba to “unlock additional infrastructure development across the region” to drive economic growth, create jobs and solve issues such as the water crisis.

Xaba said the city had agreed to work with the public works department to find “permanent solutions” to the problem buildings in Durban city centre.

He said the metro’s downtown renewal program already focused on addressing poor buildings, public space management and bylaw enforcement.

“We cannot talk about the rejuvenation of the city without addressing the problem of bad buildings. In this regard, our teams have identified 76 buildings that are neglected, abandoned, hijacked and overcrowded. Of these, 58 are privately owned and 18 are publicly owned and here we need the intervention of the minister.”

He said 23 percent of these buildings were owned by local, state or national government entities, and 77 percent by the private sector. Sixteen of the structures had been hijacked and illegally occupied.

Xaba said that since the program began, 12 buildings have been rehabilitated by their owners and seven hijacked buildings have been returned to their owners. Another seven buildings are being repaired and 11 buildings have been demolished.

The council has approved the placing of billboards on buildings to help homeowners generate advertising revenue, pay back taxes and service bills, and fund renovations.

Xaba said the options available to address problem buildings include asking the owners to renovate the buildings, the city obtaining a court order to demolish the buildings on a cost-reimbursement basis or redeveloping the buildings. The courts would play a central role and eThekwini metro would seek the appointment of a judge to address the problem.

Macpherson said a financial institution specialising in urban regeneration had expressed interest in participating in the project to address poor buildings.

A date would soon be set for a national summit involving all nine provincial MECs of public works, the ministers of justice and police, and the police to discuss how to tackle the construction mafia.

“I get confused and frustrated when people say they are business forums, not construction mafia. These are people walking around with AK47s. They commit violence, murder and extortion. These are not business forums, these are not community organisations. These are well-armed, well-funded, intelligence-driven individuals terrorising the state and communities,” Macpherson said.

“I am not prepared to talk to them. I am not prepared to negotiate with them, because you do not negotiate with extortionists. When you start on that footing and with people who commit violence and murder, you are on a slippery slope and this GNU is not one that will entertain anarchy and extortion in any way,” he said.

Macpherson welcomed the arrest of five suspects in connection with the construction mafia in the Pietermaritzburg region.

They appeared in court on Monday and were remanded in custody for further investigation. Another suspect was arrested in the Durban Point area for intimidating construction workers on the site.

“The government’s reaction and response to the mafia is being stepped up… and that is an indication that the GNU will no longer tolerate, accept or negotiate with thugs and gangsters who seek to hold the state hostage or extort money from us. The only negotiation we should have is over the length of their sentences in Westville Prison,” Macpherson said.