By Rochelle de Kock

In a veiled threat to controversial property owner Ken Denton, new Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Zanoxolo Wayile vowed yesterday to clamp down on property owners who allowed the city’s heritage to decay, resulting in health and safety hazards.

Speaking at a full council meeting at the old Wool Board to set out the objectives for his first 100 days in office – and to announce the new mayoral committee – Wayile said the focus areas would be Central and Richmond Hill in particular.

This comes against the backdrop of DA leader Helen Zille’s visit to Port Elizabeth last week to tour Irish property magnate Denton’s dilapidated properties in Central, which have been allowed to fall into disrepair.

Wayile said the municipality would not tolerate any property owners “bent on pulling the city backwards”.

“With the great strides taken in the upgrade of the CBD, upgrading of Central and Richmond Hill remains a key intervention, and a concerted effort will be placed on ensuring the upgrade does not fail.

“The heritage of the metro will be protected at all costs.”

The Nelson Mandela Bay Tourist Guide Association has hailed the mayor’s announcement, but said it wanted to see his words implemented on the ground.

Tourist Guide Association head Lynn Haller said she was happy that the mayor was “at least speaking about it”, but added that she wanted to see action.

“It sounds great, but it will be better if we can see actions rather than words. We want land owners to be brought to book and restore the condition of the buildings as they found them when they bought them, or else the municipality must take them back,” Haller said.

“All we want from the metro is that they adhere to the by-laws and enforce them.”

Haller has been instrumental in the fight to save historical buildings throughout Port Elizabeth. She has not shied away from trying to force the municipality to act against Denton to improve his decaying historical buildings.

Mandela Bay Development Agency chief executive Pierre Voges said it was “the best news we’ve ever had”.

“It is wonderful news. It will allow us to progress rapidly with the urban renewal programme.

“What we need to remember is that cities are the engines of growth. If the city does so, so does the region,” Voges said.

DA councillor Terry Herbst, who has also been at the forefront of the fight to rid the city of landlords bent on “destroying the city”, said he was “flabbergasted” by Wayile’s comments. “I can’t believe it, I just can’t believe it. I’m absolutely delighted that someone in the mayor’s office has finally woken up.

“The previous mayor simply refused point blank to get involved in the matter; she refused to do anything about it.

“I take my hat off to the new mayor for finally doing something about these buildings, although it should have been done a long time ago.

“I thank the mayor for these comments and I really hope to see this getting off the ground,” Herbst said.

Source: The Herald