Durban - A protest scheduled for today in Glenwood will not be for jobs – rather, it will be to demand simply that people in charge of enforcing the city’s by-laws do theirs.
It will be the latest action in a decade-long battle Glenwood residents have waged against the owners of 20 “problem properties” in the area. Businesses are allegedly being run illegally from these residential properties, but their owners are not being charged the higher business rates.
When residents have reported these properties to building inspectors, the SAPS and the metro police, this has not led to any long-lasting results, according to protest organiser Niki Moore.
In addition, all-night partying at premises hired out for that purpose – allegedly also illegally – has been the bane of residents’ lives. Elderly residents in the area, like an 83-year-old woman, are reluctant to confront the revellers at these properties for fear of being assaulted.
The owners of the “problem properties” tended to live elsewhere, Moore said.
She is armed with advertisements for the allegedly illegal accommodation establishments, as well as reports, including affidavits, from residents about the situation on the ground. One such account refers to the owner of a “problem property” threatening a complaining neighbour with a loaded gun, saying he would “take out my entire family with his alleged connections”.
While objecting to noise coming late at night from a neighbouring property, Moore once used a hosepipe to spray water on speakers that had allegedly been placed outside illegally, she said.
When she confronted her neighbour, Sphamandla Ngema, about a rowdy party, he had told her over the phone to go ahead and report him because he would be happy to pay any fines.
Ngema told the Independent on Saturday that he rejected this account of what had happened, saying he had told Moore not to harass people at his house, but rather to take the matter up with the authorities.
On the question whether his property was being used for accommodation and entertainment in breach of the by-laws, he said: “I shall reserve my comment.”
Two “problem property” owners named by residents could not be reached for comment.
Umbilo Community Policing Forum executive chairman Calvin Thomas said the force had attended to “quite a few” complaints about homes rented out as party venues.
“The concern is that the owners are not there and the authorities do not take the necessary action. Metro police warn people about noise levels, but then they go and start up again.
“These party houses need to be investigated to ascertain if these properties have been zoned for business purposes – as they pay different rates. We want answers.”
He said the CPF supported the protest.
Also standing in solidarity with the protest is veteran community activist Heather Roos, who chairs the Bulwer Safety and Urban Regeneration Forum in the neighbouring suburb.
She has been on a similar warpath about brothels and drug dens in the area, in respect of which there had been no consistent law enforcement.
“I hope this time they will take an interest,” she said.
Moore said that when houses were not rented out for parties, they often accommodated students on a commercial, rather than a residential, scale in residential areas.
Glenwood’s DA councillor Sakhile Mngadi said the fact that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme provided funding to students for accommodation had created a new market for off-campus students.
“Glenwood is the first major suburb outside of the central business district,” he said. “It is sandwiched between the (main campus of the) University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Durban University of Technology.”
He said he had set up liaison structures with educational institutions with regard with off-campus student accommodation in his ward.
Roos noted there were student lodgings that operated appropriately in addition to those that did not.
eThekwini Municipality spokesman Msawakhe Mayisela said it was incorrect to say that the city was not doing anything where the violation of its building protocols had been reported or found by its personnel.
“We are aware that with the depletion of disposable income in many households, more and more of our residents are going all out to supplement their income, even if it means breaking the law.
“However, the city continues to enforce its by-laws governing buildings or the extension of properties.
“The public may view us as moving at a snail’s pace in dealing with their concerns, but we must be mindful of the fact that everything we do in clamping down on this unlawful conduct is done within the ambit of the law.
“We are proud of the strides we are making daily to stop this illicit behaviour. In certain instances, we get buildings to be literally demolished, while the owners of others are fined.“
The Independent on Saturday