Fed-up with an abandoned and dilapidated house in their area, KwaNobuhle residents have given Nelson Mandela Bay municipal bosses six days to demolish it.
Residents have threatened to demolish the house themselves, which they say is a hideout spot for criminals in the area.
The house has also been used as an illegal dumping site, which residents said they had recently cleaned but the rubbish was piling up again.
Resident Thembisile Nogampula said they had written to the municipality’s previous head of public health, Yolisa Pali, about the house on the corner of Khama and Dalindyebo streets but never received any response.
“The main problem is that thugs are smoking there and it is being used as the dumping site for rubbish.
“That makes our homes victims of crime, such as that we noticed that there was a pattern of house break-ins in the same area, meaning these thugs are the ones breaking into our homes.
“And we raised this matter of this building in many public participation meetings and IDPs but nothing [happened],” Nogampula said.
He said residents were ready to demolish the house themselves.
But last month residents rolled up their sleeves and cleaned out the rubbish and rubble in and outside the house.
“Nobody is willing to hear us and the community declared with one voice this building must be demolished so as not to continue being a threat to the community,” he said.
Pali acknowledged receipt of the complaint about the house and said at the time she was in office officials were still trying to determine the ownership of the building and would have sent out a notice for the owner to come forward.
Nogampula said they had since written to Pali’s successor, councillor Lance Grootboom, and gave his office six days to respond.
Another resident, Nosithembele Qoloshe, who has a property on the same street, said she had seen too many atrocious things taking place in the building, but she was mostly concerned about the health hazard that came with the illegal dumping.
“There’s overgrown grass, all kinds of rubbish and old beds.
“We decided to start by clearing the premises of all the filth that has become an eyesore but we want to see the owner of the house taking responsibility, either demolish the building or provide some kind of protection even if its just a proper fence,” Qoloshe said.
Grootboom said they were aware of the situation.
He said city had a general problem with abandoned and derelict buildings, which he said they were working to address.
“We will send a 14-days notice to the owners to either clear or clean the building and just to redress the existing health nuisance.
“Should they not respond in 14 days, the municipality will clear and fix the place and make sure there is no health hazard to the community but the work done there will be charged to the owner,” Grootboom said.
He said a team had been set up to identify all problem buildings in the city.
HeraldLIVE