LETTER TO THE EDITOR: About this ‘slum’ of ours

Dear Sir,

Your article in the DFA of 15 November 2024, “Vacant buildings turning CBD into ‘slum’,” bears reference.

Whilst the article reports on the prevailing situation, there are several issues contained therein which require further emphasis.

Whilst Mr Thabo Mothibi attempts to delegate the obligations of the municipality and the authorities onto the owners of the buildings who he states are “responsible for ensuring that unoccupied properties were guarded and secured at own expense”, he neglects to add that there are copious laws and regulations of the Republic of South Africa and the municipality itself which are simply being ignored and not implemented.

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It is the duty of the state to create a safe environment and safe streets for all citizens – in this regard, the SAPS, the provincial government, the municipality and Social Services have all been missing in action.

It is absurd to state that private citizens should obtain the expensive services of security companies to guard property when the authorities themselves have lost complete control of the streets outside these properties. The owners of these properties are facing an invasion of criminality akin to a low-intensity guerilla war. It is clearly stated in Section 24 of the South African Constitution, that everybody has the right to an environment which is not harmful to their health or well-being.

That right is being violated in this case.

In addition, the grandiose “process to revitalise the inner city” as stated by Mr Mothibi is just another hollow verbal assurance, which we have heard for decades, and which is unlikely to ever be actioned, and from which no action was forthcoming from similar previous grandiose plans in the past. We have heard all this before.

The principal issue is that the root cause of the deterioration of the City of Kimberley lies in disused buildings (from which tenants have been driven out by criminality) which have attracted more criminal elements, vagrants and street children to the central business district.

The provincial and municipal authorities have essentially lost control of the Kimberley CBD – law and order and safe streets are a thing of the past. These officials have been derelict in their duty.

A case in point is the old DFA building [in Dunell Street], which is the property of the municipality (of which Mr Mothibi is part), and has been for more than a decade. It has been left in a total state of neglect, is strewn with litter, and has been vandalised and stripped of its utilities to such an extent that it has become what town planners call a “sinkhole building”, driving out adjacent business, tenants and devaluing the surrounding properties.

In addition, it would appear that the municipality has not paid rates and taxes on its own property for many years, but expects other property owners in the vicinity to comply.

This particular building has been the subject of grandiose plans by the municipality over the years (all reported in the local press) to turn it into a “training centre”, amongst other “projects”, which the municipality has neither the resources nor managerial skills to implement, and has regularly failed to do so.

The issues of criminality have been reported and criminal cases opened at SAPS on numerous occasions. These cases are not investigated and are quickly closed.

The DFA building is but one of several provincial and municipal buildings in the city which have fallen into a state of disrepair, and which represent the general condition of the infrastructure in the City of Kimberley (the condition of the sewage works and dumping grounds are another example, as well as the illegal mining prevalent on the outskirts).

It is only by the benevolence of a local mining company that the city has potable water to drink (the lack of water in the city at the beginning of the year was a disgrace to the capital city of the Northern Cape), who took it upon themselves to step up using their own resources to repair the reservoirs and water distribution infrastructure.

The principal activity of a mining company is to conduct the business of mining, not to do the work of incompetent municipal officials. Despite the challenges faced by the mining company in the current economic climate, they contributed far more to the citizens of Kimberley than the municipality ever has done.

I, for one, am thankful for their contribution. The right to clean and potable water is enshrined in Section 27 of the Bill of Rights, Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

Given the disaster that these “sinkhole” buildings have visited upon the City of Kimberley, and given that the municipality is indebted to the national government to the amount of several billion rand, it would be prudent to auction off these buildings to entities that can renovate them and put them to good residential or commercial use.

The provincial government and municipality do not have the resources to maintain them and they are left abandoned, attracting vandalism and vagrants, the Viennese Bandsmen houses at the bottom of Memorial Road being another case in point, as was the historic Methodist Manse burnt down by vagrants several months ago. Even the memorial to the residents of what was known as the Malay Camp has been vandalised, as well as the home of Sol Plaatje himself, a site of some heritage.

The issue of the street children and vagrants is the responsibility of NC Social Services.

The sale of these buildings could also contribute to the debt outstanding by the municipality to central government, attract new tenants and commerce, and make a positive contribution to the city.

Again to the issue of the old DFA Building – it is structurally sound as it was built to carry heavy printing presses in its day, it has only been vandalised of its fittings and can be renovated. To spend millions demolishing it is again an absurd proposal. In a country where a shortage of accommodation is an issue, the old DFA building can easily be renovated if it is sold by the municipality to an entity with the resources to renovate, administer and maintain it. The same goes for other disused buildings.

It appears in the press that there will be a change of some kind in the council which may lead to some actions being taken.

Kimberley is my hometown and the Northern Cape is my home province, of which I am particularly proud. Kimberley is a famous city and should be a centre of tourism and economic development.

The people of the province have elected politicians and managers at all levels of government to represent them – they are obligated to serve the people and implement regulations and laws, which is why they are known as “civil servants”.

The people of the city and province have no interest in their internal politics and factionalism. They have been elected to serve the people, not their own ego.

All these civil servants require is the political will to manage and administer the city properly, and restore the city to its rightful place as a peaceful, orderly, garden city where people can live safely and peacefully and where economic growth can occur.

To these civil servants I say, have some pride in yourselves, the city, and our province and execute what the people have mandated you to do.

Yours sincerely,

Theo Botoulas

* Letters are very lightly edited for clarity and to comply with the DFA’s style.

** The DFA welcomes feedback and perspectives from municipal authorities, other stakeholders, and community members to provide their input on the issues raised in this letter. If you wish to share your views, please contact us at info.dfa@acm.co.za