DURBAN - Property developer Kobus Marais from Howick says it will take almost a year for the Mpophomeni Shopping Centre to be repaired to full functionality following the massive looting experienced in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng last week.
Mpophomeni, a township outside Howick in the KZN Midlands, was one of the hardest hit with its only shopping mall left in ruins.
On August 13 the shopping mall would have celebrated its first year anniversary.
“It is quite sad that what should have been a day of celebration in a few weeks will just be about reflecting on the ruins of what used to be a mall,” said Marais.
Despite the setback though, the property developer said he was determined to rebuild the mall.
He reflected on how the mall had been built with massive assistance from the locals who had contributed with various skills ensuring that more than half of the labour was from Mpophomeni.
“That is why I do not believe that the locals could have done this, to something that they literally built,” Marais said.
While the looting had been expected once the riots started, the developer said he had been disappointed with the destruction of property, which meant that they would have to start from scratch as the building structure had been ruined beyond repairs.
Many residents have since taken to social media to vent their frustrations at the destruction of the mall.
“This has been our source of convenience, we have been able to save on transport when going shopping. With this now we have to go to Pietermaritzburg to buy groceries, this is really unfair,” said one resident from a Facebook group.
According to uMngeni Municipality cleaning up of Howick and its surrounding areas is an on-going process and it will take a while for the area to be back to its former self.
THE MERCURY