Students living in danger zone
Landlord defends state of dilapidated B&B being used by WSU women
The landlord operating what may be one of the worst bed and breakfasts (B&B) in the province has defended the horrid living conditions endured by scores of women students living in his 14-room lodge.
Heading a list of ills cited by students, and seen by the Dispatch, is the blackened wall around the electricity box which exploded in Kowie Lodge.
The building is home to 32 Walter Sisulu University students but according to the owner, is not an official residence.
Last week Dispatch saw broken windows, malfunctioning toilets, grungy showers, rooms crammed with six students, doors that cannot be locked or missing entirely, prefab walls used to separate the rooms which are not finished off, live, exposed electrical wires, drooping ceiling boards and rooms without ceiling boards. Cupboards were in an unfinished state or in need of repair. Some students were sharing old beds, and some bedboards had conked in so severely that students felt like they were “sleeping in a bath”.
When Dispatch put the complaints to the lodge owner, Thozama Mhlontshi BenMazwi, he was defiant, saying this was a B&B and not a residence, and that he had no contract with Walter Sisulu University.
He also blamed students for the exploding electrical box.
“I have opened a case of trespassing and defamation of character against one of the students who entered my B&B and took pictures and posted them on Facebook. The B&B has 14 rooms and some of them are being fixed. Even the electricity board that exploded was due to overloading by the students, and it has since been fixed,” he said.
He said the B&B had four showers and four toilets, and the one toilet and one shower seen by the Daily Dispatch were not being used. However, he said there were three other toilets and three showers which were useable.
However, Dispatch saw students using both the “unused” toilet and shower.
EFF Student Command Queenstown Campus branch chair Ayabulela Namzi said the lodge was actually a residence, but had not been approved by the university since 2016 because of its poor condition.
Walter Sisulu University spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo did not respond to the questions sent to her.
Namzi said: “That place is not secure to house students. Our students are in danger of getting shocked and becoming victims of crime. There is no security guard and there is no ceiling.”
Namzi said considering that the residence was for women, the broken windows and lack of security exposes them to crime.
He claimed they were under threat from the landlord and would not back down for as long as students continued living in the “shack”.