On Thursday morning 23 June the eThekwini Municipality’s Multi-Disciplinary Task Team embarked on a massive operation, where three alleged slum-lords were arrested and charged with contravening various by-laws of the City.
These included; the operation of unlicensed accommodation establishments, not complying with the Fire Brigade Services Act, Public Health Bylaws, National Buildings Regulation and Building Standards Act.
Building owners, Ahmed Kazi, Clifford Dawood and Sakoor Khan were arrested, appeared in court and paid R5000, R14 000 and R29 000 respectively in admission of guilt fines. They have since been released.
The arrest of the three landlords is part of an ongoing campaign by the Municipality and other Law Enforcement Agencies to rid the City of slums in the inner City and to end the exploitation of vulnerable people.
The Multi-Disciplinary Task Team is made up of various Units within the Municipality and other spheres of government. It has been specifically set up to deal with the ever increasing problem of “bad buildings” in the City.
“The message we want to send out is that we, as law enforcement agencies, will not tolerate the blatant disregard for Municipal by-laws, which not only leads to urban decay, but puts the lives of the occupants in danger,” said Bheki Mkhize, Deputy City Manager of the Safety and Security Cluster in the Municipality.
