Abandoned buildings and vacant houses across Moqhaka are becoming dangerous as neglected properties deteriorate, attract illegal occupants and create opportunities for crime in surrounding communities.
Many of the properties have been left without proper maintenance for years, with broken or missing doors and windows, overgrown vegetation and accumulated municipal debt.
In some cases, water and electricity supplies have been disconnected for years, leaving the buildings without basic services.
Cllr Linda Louwrens, DA councillor for Moqhaka Local Municipality, said the municipality has been warned about the problem and has already received lists of abandoned buildings and vacant properties from ward councillors.
Some of the buildings are being occupied by people who make open fires inside the structures to keep warm during winter. The practice creates a fire risk, particularly where abandoned buildings stand close to occupied homes.
The neglected properties are also becoming magnets for illegal dumping, vandalism, drug-related activity and other criminal behaviour, leaving law-abiding residents to deal with the consequences.
Louwrens said ward councillors provided the municipality with the addresses of abandoned properties after being asked to do so on two separate occasions, but intervention has yet to follow.
The problem is further complicated by properties whose registered owners have died. In these cases, houses can remain vacant and unmanaged for years while ownership, estate and outstanding municipal account issues remain unresolved.
Louwrens said the municipality needs to work with the Master’s Office, executors of deceased estates, property owners and other relevant authorities to determine ownership and address outstanding municipal debts.
The DA is calling for urgent inspections of all identified abandoned properties and for municipal by-laws dealing with unsafe structures and overgrown properties to be enforced.
The party also wants dangerous buildings secured against illegal occupation and a comprehensive plan developed to prevent abandoned properties from becoming permanent safety and crime hotspots.
For residents living near these properties, the issue is no longer simply one of neglected buildings. It has become a concern over fire, crime, illegal occupation and the deterioration of neighbourhoods.
“Residents deserve safe neighbourhoods, and the municipality cannot continue to ignore a problem that is steadily worsening,” Louwrens said.
