Organised business in Mthatha has warned that the devastation caused by a series mysterious fires to buildings in the CBD will result in job losses and may scare away investors.
Authorities, meanwhile, have urged property and business owners to consider investing in surge protectors and to be “vigilant of any damaged electrical wiring as these may be contributing factors”.
Less than three weeks ago, another historic building was consumed by flames, leaving at least two businesses counting their losses in the millions of rand and at least 50 people without jobs.
The building on the busy York Road, said to be about 70 years old, is shared by Umtata Pharmacy and Lillian’s Bedding.
The Dispatch reported that former state president Nelson Mandela had sheltered at the pharmacy from a tornado in December 1998. At least 14 people in Mthatha were killed during the storm.
Pharmacy manager Simlindile Gxasheka told the Dispatch they were not sure how the fire started and that a passer-by had alerted them to the blaze.
Earlier this year, Jimmy’s Spar, in Sutherland Street, was also gutted by fire.
Two historic landmarks, the Transkei Hotel and Grosvenor Hotel went up in flames, months apart, in 2021.
Mthatha businessman and Eastern Cape Chamber of Business president Vuyisile Ntlabati said the local business community was extremely worried about the situation.
“Many buildings are very old. Their wiring is suspect,” he told the Dispatch at the weekend.
They [authorities] should monitor buildings. This is a serious concern. They are the only ones that can help
“They [authorities] should monitor buildings. This is a serious concern. They are the only ones that can help.
“We suspect our electricity systems are old. Potential investors will be driven away. Investors want to invest where their money will be safe.”
He said there was also a possibility of business being forced to pay more on their premiums to insurance companies because of the fires.
Many people would be left unemployed while the town’s image was also being negatively affected.
Ntlabati the reality was that many small businesses would not be able to recover in the event of a fire because they were not insured.
He said landlords were often not concerned about the state of their buildings, as long as they were able to collect rent at the end of each month.
It was accordingly the duty of the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) Local Municipality, under which Mthatha falls, to ensure that buildings were regularly inspected for compliance with safety standards.
“They should be inspected to see if they have things like fire hydrants and fire extinguishers.
“It should be done every year but in my factory, no inspection has taken place in a long time. There is no enforcement [to ensure compliance].”
KSD municipal manager Ngamela Pakade said officials were worried about the fires because they contributed to “a loss of livelihoods and the economy of this area”.
He said the fires tended to be caused by electrical short circuits and this usually occurred after lock-up, when no-one was around.
For this reason, even though municipal fire brigades responded swiftly to such emergencies, firefighters often had to force their way into premises before they could extinguish the blaze.
He urged property and business owners to invest in surge protectors, adding that the KSD fire brigade had an inspection team that carried out compliance checks at buildings and businesses.
He said businesses that met the safety requirements were issued with a fire compliance certificate.
The municipality had also developed the abandoned, dilapidated and unsightly buildings bylaw to encourage property owners to take better care of their buildings.
However, Mthatha Ratepayers and Residents Association spokesperson and KSD councillor Madyibi Ngxekana accused municipal inspectors of not doing their job.
He said many buildings in the CBD were now in the hands of foreign nationals.
“There is no inspection that is done. If you look at many of our buildings, some have become an embarrassment and are very dilapidated.
“How can we become a metro when the standard of our buildings is so poor?”
The Dispatch previously reported that KSD was bidding to become a rural metro by 2026.
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