The entrances to several problematic buildings in Central, harbouring vagrants and criminals, have been bricked up pending approval to have some of them demolished.
The robbery of tourists in the area this week brought to the fore the continuing problem of criminals using derelict buildings as hideouts.
Politicians and Central Special Rating Area (SRA) members did a walkabout in Central this week in a bid to discourage the illegal occupation of the most notorious addresses known for harbouring vagrants and criminal elements.
The SRA also brought in private contractors, under the protection of CityWide Security, to seal off several deteriorating properties by bricking up all entrances in an effort to prevent their total destruction.
But the days are numbered for one of the more infamous locations in Central — 35 Clyde Street — with the process to obtain a demolition order having started and the SRA now raising funds to knock down the building.
On Monday, two British tourists were walking up John Kani Road when they were robbed of their passports and other valuables by two knife-wielding men.
After the visitors called for help, the suspects were traced to a known problem building a block away in Prospect Hill, where they were arrested and the stolen goods recovered.
While visiting the problematic sites with the DA’s leadership on Thursday, Ward 5 councillor Terri Stander said there was a clear link between problem buildings and rampant crime.
“I’ve conducted 12 citizen’s arrests in Central, and each of those suspects ran into an abandoned building to hide,” Stander said.
The name of the building where the suspects were arrested on Monday has faded from the walls.
The official entrance is sealed off, with the roof and wooden floors of the second storey destroyed by fire.
The ground floor is no longer visible under a thick layer of rubble, rubbish and human faeces, and the stairway is difficult to access due to a tree growing through it.
However, despite its horrible condition, it still shows signs of regular occupation.
“We do regular checks here because we know this is one of the hideouts where stolen goods are stored and drugs abused,” a CityWide operative said.
Their visit to the area was a follow-up from the week before, when they officially informed vagrants that the SRA would be sending contractors to brick up the buildings, and advised them to vacate them before then.
Two blocks away, another property in Hope Street, Clifton Mansions, has been a recurring problem for more than a decade, as dozens of vagrants come and go from the three-storey structure.
During the DA’s visit on Thursday, provincial leader Andrew Whitfield pointed out that the building was about 200m away from the City Hall and the council chambers.
While the media was being updated, contractors were seen sealing off makeshift entrances to Clifton Mansions, where holes had been knocked into the walls for illegal access.
CityWide’s team had visited the same building the previous day.
Six people came crawling out of a hole in the wall. One woman carried two kittens.
Most of the vagrants left the area, but by Thursday morning, when DA members arrived, new faces occupied Clifton Mansions.
“You can brick it up, I will be back within a week and there’s nothing you can do about it,” one man said.
A few blocks away, in Winston Tshona Street, a six-storey eyesore with Highview written in cracked and broken letters on the side, is a constant thorn in the side of operatives patrolling the area.
Every door has been sealed, and the security gate is chained and padlocked.
However, on the side of the building, a small hole has been carved into the brickwork, hidden behind a propped up wooden pallet.
Though operatives found no-one inside, there were clear signs of recent occupation.
“Before this place was sealed off, we assisted with drug raids here,” one operative said.
“The moment we entered all kinds of illegal goods would come flying out windows and over the balcony.
“If you don’t find drugs on a suspect, it becomes difficult to prove a person was breaking the law.”
DA councillor Retief Odendaal said the municipality had a dedicated task team to investigate problem buildings and take action.
However, he said the team had not been having regular meetings, or providing feedback to the council.
“The problem building task team has not been meeting.
“They need to investigate the properties concerned and give a full report-back to council for decisive action to be taken,” Odendaal said.
He said the problem building bylaws gave the municipality the power to take action against irresponsible and absent property owners and, in cases of extreme neglect, take control of the building and demolish it if necessary.
An obstacle preventing the demolition of buildings is the National Heritage Act, which seeks to preserve historic sites older than 60 years.
Odendaal said the DA would engage with the Provincial Heritage Resource Authority to fast-track applications for renovations, alterations and, in exceptional cases, demolition.
Number 35 Clyde Street is one example where the process to obtain a demolition order has started.
In November 2021, the property, once home to the city’s Community Chest offices, was the scene of a brutal mass murder, with four people killed and five wounded.
At that stage, the property had already been abandoned for some time and was a haven for vagrants, criminals and drugs.
A fire later ripped through the building.
On Wednesday, CityWide discovered about a dozen people squatting in the ruins.
From the front entrance the property seemed uninhabited, but piles of rubbish were visible through the windows.
On entering the derelict structure, stepping over broken glass and human waste, a family with a baby was found living behind a makeshift wall and sheets.
Asked who they were, and how long they had been there, they simply scowled.
Several other people occupied the outbuildings.
CityWide director and Central SRA member Stephen Moore said they had brought contractors in to quote on the demolition of the property, pending final approval from the council.
“We have been in contact with contractors and we need about R50,000 to demolish the property.
“We’re hoping to raise the funds as soon as possible so we can be rid of the building and the problems that come with it,” Moore said.
Municipal spokesperson Mamela Ndamase said the application for demolition had not yet reached the city’s building inspectorate.
She said the property owner was responsible for the demolition of a property, unless there was a court judgment and the owner could not be traced.
It would then be demolished by the municipality.
“All problematic or potentially problematic buildings have been identified.
“The building inspectorate is the department responsible for these applications, with the support of legal services and public safety.”
Ndamase said the enforcement of the problem building bylaws was the responsibility of the building inspectorate, and it would assist in co-ordinating with all the other relevant directorates.
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