MyPE

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The Fall and Fall of the Slumlord

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www.MyPE.co.za: I was tempted to title this piece; “The Rise and Rise of the Slumlord” but that might have intimated that the reign of the Port Elizabeth Slumlords was over and that they have made their buildings rise out of neglect to their former glory!

It is a sad fact that out various candidate and fully qualified slumlords are still flipping the bird to the citizens of Port Elizabeth and our so called organs of authority. God forbid that they are actually human organs as we would have to resort to radical surgery and extensive chemotheraphy on them in an attempt to reveal some useful area worth saving.

Tireless campaigner against building rapists, Terry Herbst, sent a number of quotes that he has been collecting with regards to the Urban Decay within Port Elizabeth, saying; “The following quotes may be useful in the campaign to get owners of historical, protected properties to respect the National Heritage Resources Act No 25 of 1999.”

What is interesting is that the written word is slowly revealing some of these extremely well qualified slumlords as being complete strangers to the truth.

In chronological (where possible) order we have some juicy soundbites for you:

  • In the eighties, historian and conservationist Professor Danie Theron, as chairman of the Eastern Cape Heritage Committee, described the Central area as, arguably, the finest historic townscape of any major city in Southern Africa. “It is an area of great historic importance and charm, and it is in your direct interest to preserve this.”
  • Failure to comply with the requirements of the National Heritage Resources Act No 25 of 1999 constitutes a criminal offence.
  • Applications for a permit to deviate from the provisions of the National Heritage Resources Act No 25 of 1999 are considered to be public documents, and are open to public scrutiny.
  • 13 July 2005: Irish property tycoon Ken Denton has given himself a three-year deadline to use the Metro tax incentives to renovate his buildings in Central. (The Herald)
  • 27 July 2005: “We are busy refurbishing 18 complete apartments in Thedmar Court, Clyde Street, which will soon be available to let” (Denton Properties advert in The Herald)
  • 10 July 2006: It is common cause that some of your properties encourage activities deemed to be undermining the very efforts introduced by the Mandela Bay Development Agency to resuscitate the inner city of Port Elizabeth. Some of these activities are drug trafficking, prostitution and other unsocial and undesirable activities (MBDA Chief Executive Officer Pierre Voges in a letter to property developer Ken Denton)
  • January 2007: Apart from considerable harm to an historic area which once was a noted tourist attraction, conditions in the Central area impact negatively on the potential for regeneration and economic growth, and other consequences of this pattern of neglect include unsafe structures, unhealthy environmental conditions and dangerous fires. (Mr Graham Richards, Municipal Manager – www.MyPE.co.za)
  • January 2007: “Our Constitution makes it clear that rights which our citizens enjoy are equally balanced by obligations to the communities which support them, and we wish to ensure that the Denton group understands and complies with these obligations.” (Mr Graham Richards, Municipal Manager)
  • 8 February 2007: It is clear that some of Mr Denton’s CBD properties should be protected for posterity in terms of the National Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999, which clearly identifies the importance of conserving our national heritage (Mr A de Vries, Assistant Manager: Land Use Management)
  • 23 March 2007: It is recommended that instructions be obtained to prepare for the institution of appropriate High Court proceedings which will have as their aim and purpose the achievement of an order compelling certain property owners to abate the nuisance occasioned by the current state of their properties (Advocate G G Goosen, SC)
  • 22 September 2007: “Without buildings like the famous row of houses in Donkin Street, Port Elizabeth would be like any other city.” (Noted historian Margaret Harradine (Weekend Post)
  • 22 September 2007: “Central is the heart of Port Elizabeth, but is experiencing heart failure. If we don’t preserve this area, what will remain of our historical centre?” (Dr Otto Terblanche, history lecturer (Weekend Post)
  • 17 May 2008: It is difficult to see how Port Elizabeth will successfully upgrade its historic urban fabric – a key to the city’s growth – while Ken Denton is a property owner. (www.MyPE.co.za)
  • 6 September 2008: The historical core of Port Elizabeth is one of the best of the great cultural built-environment historical sites in South Africa, and should be proclaimed a World Heritage Site. (Professor Gavin McLachlan, NMMU Architectural School Director – The Herald)
  • 8 October 2008: The Donkin Street terrace is considered an extremely important heritage resource, and its protection is important. (Mrs Dawn McCarthy, Director: Land Planning and Management)
  • 20 November 2008: “Interested parties will have to play various roles to ensure that we achieve the objective of preserving the heritage of our city by holding property owners responsible for the maintenance of their properties so that slums do not develop.” (Saki Macozoma, chairman: Mandela Bay Development Agency)
  • 12 December 2008: The Mandela Bay Heritage Trust is committed to an energised and revised inner city that uses its unique heritage identity positively to portray a place that is good for the right kind of investment, good for people to buy property in, good for tourists, and good for all the people of the city to enjoy as an asset. (MBHT chairman Bryan Wintermeyer)
  • 3 October 2009: Port Elizabeth is experiencing urban decay and the rise of the slumlord on an unprecedented scale. (www.MyPE.co.za)
  • 3 October 2009: Port Elizabeth has a local government that appears not to care about urban heritage and lacks the teeth to stop the rot of our heritage. (www.MyPE.co.za)
  • 2 November 2009: The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality ignored key findings of a top-secret report on how to halt the destruction and decay of historic buildings in Port Elizabeth’s Central and Richmond Hill. (The Herald)
  • 10 December 2009: “The heritage of the metro will be protected at all costs” (Executive Mayor Zanoxolo Wayile – The Herald)
  • 28 December 2009: “Run this Irish carpetbagger (Denton) out of town. No-one wants him here. Send him back to the slums of Dublin where he came from” (The Herald)
  • 15 January 2010: The impact of derelict buildings and slumlords is reaching critical dimensions in Port Elizabeth and the potential of the City to become a potential national and international player is suffering under the gross negligence of some property-owners (Mr Phil Gutsche, Deputy Chairperson, Mandela Bay Development Agency)
  • 15 January 2010: If Port Elizabeth wants to become nationally and internationally competitive, the issue of slumlords must be urgently addressed. (Mr Phil Gutsche, Deputy Chairperson, Mandela Bay Development Agency)
  • 15 January 2010: Good administration in the Metro will be increasingly hampered by the existence of slum buildings and the resulting economic impact. (Mr Phil Gutsche, Deputy Chairperson, Mandela Bay Development Agency Board)
  • 15 January 2010: Port Elizabeth has probably experienced the worst urban decay of cities in South Africa. (Mr Phil Gutsche, Deputy Chairperson, Mandela Bay Development Agency)
  • 15 January 2010: The impact of derelict buildings and slumlords is reaching critical dimensions in Port Elizabeth and the potential of the City to become a potential national and international player is suffering under the gross negligence of some property-owners. (Mr Phil Gutsche, Deputy Chairperson, Mandela Bay Development Agency)

Now that you have come to the end of some of the juicy soundbites do yourself a favour and go back to the one dated 13 July 2005,  which says “Irish property tycoon Ken Denton has given himself a three-year deadline to use the Metro tax incentives to renovate his buildings in Central. (The Herald)”

Now, if your name is of Irish extraction, take out your calculator and key the following in; 2005 + 3 = 2008. Now check your calendar and see that we have entered the year of the potato head – 2011. And another THREE years have passed after the self imposed deadline of Brother Ken and nothing, nada, niks, fokol has happened.

Along with all other citizens we pray that Father Christmas finally delivered some brains, some heart and a bit of personality to all Port Elizabeth’s SLUMLORDS.

Don’t hold your breath though as the stalling, intimidation and payoff tactics employed by Port Elizabeth’s ‘finest’ have been honed to razor sharp proportions after many years of ducking and diving.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.