The Rustenburg Local Municipality after obtaining a court order, today demolished three (3) residential properties in Rustenburg East with an estimated combined market value of R 1,7 million. The demolitions come on the back of various crime prevention operations which were done in conjunction with the South African Police Services (SAPS) and other Directorates within the Municipality, such as Planning & Human Settlements, with the involvement of the Building Control and Town Planning units, the Directorate: Technical & Infrastructure Services through its Water and Electricity units.
The court order was issued to the Municipality, after the registered owners of the three properties did not contact the Municipality as prescribed by law, when the Municipality had identified the properties as problematic. What is a serious concern to the Municipality as it relates to the three properties, was the use of each as a drug dens, as well as locations where sex trade took place with the participation of vulnerable females, where a concoctive drug known as nyaope had been discovered during previous operations.
Acting Executive Mayor Cllr Lucky Kgaladi commended the work which had been done by all officials and stakeholders, which has culminated in today’s demolition. “Rustenburg is today, safer as these three houses have gone to ground. We have now decreased the number of problematic houses in the City, where many lives had been destroyed” Mayor Kgaladi said.
Acting Executive Mayor was also accompanied by the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) on Public Safety Michael Mhlungu who lauded the entire security team on the relenting spirit to make Rustenburg safe for all. “As we are fast approaching the end of the year, this needs to be a signal to criminals and any other person, who thinks that Rustenburg is a haven for any illegal acts. We will continue unabated to cleanse Rustenburg of any criminal activities while working towards making it a safe City for all” Mhlungu remarked.
Among other issues, for which the houses were flagged for, was tempered electrical and water meters, which were bypassed thus robbing the city of paid for utility services and burdening the Municipal coffers. The Municipality has cleared the rubble to ensure the safety of neighbouring houses and to ensure that the sites do not attract would be criminals.
The demolition of the properties is in line with the City’s safe and clean campaign which aims to ensure that Rustenburg becomes environmentally friendly while ridding itself of rogue elements, perpetrating different criminal acts. Today’s activity was a joint operation between the Municipality’s various Directorates and the SAPS.
Ends.
