Image: MICHAEL PINYANA
A bunch of suburban houses in Buffalo City Metro (BCM) have been abandoned by their owners and are falling into ruin.
Five of the houses are in affluent Beacon Bay and one in Vincent. They have been vandalised and some invaded by vagrants.
Illegal occupants in one West Bank house said they had nowhere else to go.
Residents called the house a drug den.
In Beacon Bay five properties have been left to rot and have become an eyesore. Two are in Bonza Bay road while the other is in Fairview Place. Another is on the corner of Lark and Swift roads, and one is in Quenera Drive.
Residents have been complaining bitterly that these properties, which are in prime areas, have been drawing bad elements and are devaluing their properties.
A number spoke on condition of anonymity as they feared victimisation. One person said a house near a bushy area had rats and snakes and was occupied by people who were “dumping their human waste” on the floors.
“These are signs that the people who have occupied these houses are vagrants. No-one will buy a house in this area when they see this house. What is worse is that is happening in the most affluent suburb in East London,” claimed the neighbour.
A neighbour at the Fairview house, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said: “We want this to be torn down. One day we will find a dead person in this house. Come on BCM, do something.”
The house on the corner of Bonza Bay and Batting Roads is dirty, the grass unkempt and windows broken. A Ugandan in the house said she was renting a room in the house.
A half-used reel of electrical cable was lying in the yard, and 17 dagga bushes were growing in a small vegetable plot.
The house is owned by the Kacnis family, Dimitri Kacnis said.
He said they were planning to develop the place but there were delays.
Read more of the story on DispatchLIVE
BY: BONGANI FUZILE
SOURCE: DISPATCHLIVE
