DURBAN – EThekwini Municipality has a problem of bad buildings which is making the city less attractive to tourists.
Some of the bad buildings that are a problem are owned by the city and not enough is being done to address the issue.
These concerns were raised in the city’s audit committee report, tabled before the exco members on Tuesday.
The city’s audit committee said it was reported to them that some of the city owned buildings had become dilapidated and there was no evidence that the issue was being addressed.
Under items requiring attention, the audit committee listed the issue of bad buildings. It said over the past 20 years a significant number of buildings within the CBD had become dilapidated at a fast rate, making the city less attractive for tourism, compared to other cities like Cape Town.
It said this was mainly due to non-adherence to the city’s by-laws, by the relevant building owners or tenants.
“There is inadequate coordination from the executive level to ensure that all work streams, tasked with the effort of tackling bad buildings within the city, report centrally for strategic decision making and direction.
“It was observed that each unit relied on each other for sourcing the municipal owned buildings, however, it was evident that no progress had been made in compiling a register for the city's bad buildings,” said the report.
It was also reported that no enforcement measures are taken for non compliance in government owned buildings, it said.
In its response to the concerns, the city said it had developed an action plan that will include a register of municipal-owned problem buildings.
THE MERCURY