Forum wants to take over bad buildings

THE newly formed “Delangokubona Properties” wants to take over all derelict properties, hijacked buildings, and those with absentee landlords and renovate them as part of a clean-up campaign in the Point area of Durban.

Delangokubona Properties is a unit of Delangokubona Business Forum, which has a reputation for using strong-arm tactics to secure business.

Yesterday, Delangokubona members and affiliates met at a Durban hotel where they detailed their plans for buildings around the Point area.

The members of the group were quick to stress that the move was not an attempt to hijack buildings.

“We are not trying to take over buildings to make money; this is part of a larger campaign to clean up the Point,” said Vincent Ngobese.

“We are looking at buildings that are empty, that have been hijacked and those in a poor state or which have absentee landlords,” he said.

He said they visited some of the buildings on Tuesday and found them to be in a shocking condition.

“In one building, people are paying thousands of rand, yet the building has no water or electricity.

The group said it was also unhappy with the presence of illegal foreigners in the area who had taken over buildings and were selling drugs.

The forum said they had engaged the city manager, Sipho Nzuza, and the municipality’s real estate division about the buildings and planned to hold another meeting on Monday.

eThekwini Municipality’s acting head of communications Mandla Nsele said the forum had met the city’s head of real estate and wanted officials to agree to them (forum) “removing” illegal occupants from the council-owned buildings on the Point.

“The city manager told the president of the forum there was no authority for this save for a court eviction order.

“The forum subsequently proposed entering a memorandum of agreement to discuss issues of an engagement about the buildings being used for student accommodation.”