PMB business exodus fears

THE Pietermaritzburg city centre is in danger of being overrun by vagrants. That’s the warning from businesspeople and opposition parties in light of the increasing number of homeless people in the city, most of whom are teenagers.

Business owners say the presence of vagrants, some of whom are abusing drugs, harassing and robbing customers, is destroying their businesses. They allege that four big businesses have closed down since June.

“Several businesses have closed down, and another big one is about to close,” said DA councillor Jerome Majola.

“They (vagrants) were in Retief Street and were chased away, now they are sleeping in Pietermaritz street. What is going to happen to the businesses there?

“They sleep in front of businesses and cause a mess. Every morning those businesses must now clean up. That is not conducive to any business operation,” he said.

Majola said potential customers and businesses would shun the CBD.

He said the municipality must deal with the issue of homelessness, profile those living on the street and assist those who needed to deal with drug addiction.

IFP councillor Thinasonke Ntombela said he had recently witnessed an incident in which a police officer pursuing a vagrant after a robbery, was attacked.

A businessman who runs a fruit and vegetable business in the city centre, and who did not want to be named, said some big businesses had closed down because of the state of the city.

“The vagrants were harassing our customers, who no longer wanted to come here. Businesses have closed down. This city is going downhill and the municipality seems not to be interested,” he said.

Local government expert, the former manager of eThekwini municipality, Mike Sutcliffe, said keeping the city clean was the most basic function of any municipality.

While not directly addressing the leadership challenges in Msunduzi, Sutcliffe said strong, stable and competent leadership was necessary to efficiently run the municipality.

Msunduzi has faced leadership instability.

Former municipal manager Mxolisi Nkosi was suspended, following corruption allegations that he denied (his contract was not renewed when it expired), current acting municipal manager Sizwe Hadebe has a cloud of allegations of financial wrongdoing from his previous job hanging over him, and the general manager for Infrastructure, Sabatha Nomnganga, has been suspended.

Outcomes

“You cannot have a situation where people are suspended and then nothing happens afterwards. There must be a disciplinary hearing and there must be outcomes. You cannot have a situation where there are just rumours, and Pietermaritzburg has had a lot of that,” said Sutcliffe.

Leo Quayle, the president of the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business, said electricity, water and sewerage infrastructure and inner city decay were challenges.

“The CBD will have several challenges, especially if provincial government relocates outside the city centre. This will leave many empty buildings, contributing further to the decay.”

He said businesses moving out of the CBD was not unique to Pietermaritzburg.

“Several members (of the chamber) have moved out, generally to relocate outside the centre.”

Municipal spokesperson Thobeka Mafumbatha said they had undertaken a number of initiatives, which included having a street store where the mayor engaged with people living on the streets by giving them an option to be moved to a safe house.