Nine property owners in Nelson Mandela Bay are facing court action after the municipality gave them ultimatums to either fix or demolish their dilapidated buildings.
Properties in Walmer, Central, Korsten and North End are among those listed as problem buildings.
Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip, flanked by mayoral committee members Nqaba Bhanga and John Best, on Thursday released a list of buildings whose owners were facing litigation.
“We are going to focus on two areas in particular, Central and Richmond Hill. That’s where our immediate focus is,” Trollip said.
“Central and Richmond Hill are a very significant, historical part of the city that we cannot allow to go into disrepair and be denigrated the way it has been currently by people who are just simply lawless.”
The buildings mentioned by Trollip will now be added to a list of other buildings that have already been earmarked for demolition in the city’s efforts to enforce its problem building bylaw.
Last month, the municipality issued Transnet with a notice of demolition.
The department of basic education was also among those implicated, with KwaFord Primary School in New Brighton now listed as a problem.
“These property owners have for years simply ignored notices from the municipality – now we are actually going after them with a big stick,” Trollip said.
“We have issued notices to all of these property owners.
“We have issued intentions to demolish to some of them, some of them have a notice to fix them up and take ownership – tidy up your buildings, secure your buildings so vagrants and other people can’t get in there – others have been given notices of demolition.”Trollip said the municipality was working with the Provincial Resources Heritage Authority and the Nelson Mandela Bay Heritage Trust.
On state institutions that had been issued notices, Trollip said the municipality would not wait forever.
“We want everybody to please take note that we are not going to make any exceptions – if you live in this city and you live in this country you are expected to respect the law of the land and if you don’t do that we are going to take very serious steps against those people who break those laws.
“We are very serious about making sure that we are going to clean up our inner city.
“We are not going to allow the hijacking of buildings by anybody, nor [will we] accept vacant, derelict buildings.”
Trollip and his entourage also visited a building formerly used by the Port Elizabeth Deaf Association.
The owner of the building in Pearson Street was among the first to be issued a notice of demolition.
Bhanga said Transnet had responded to its notice, but court action against the parastatal would continue until action was taken.
“Government departments should be an example,” Bhanga said.
He said the municipality would also be writing to the office of the premier to speed up the process on governmentowned buildings.