Tenants at the ageing Mdantsane Highway Mall have accused the building’s owner, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, of making hollow promises as plans for the R64.5m renovations made in January have been put on hold.
The revamp of the 31-year-old building had stalled due to emergency repairs of the structure’s roof.
This has caused frustration for some of the tenants who are said to be planning to boycott paying rent until the dilapidated building has been fixed.
In January, the Highway Mall was set to shut down for at least 18 months for refurbishment to avoid permanent closure of the building after it was ruled too dangerous to continue operating.
This came after the development corporation had been given a “notice of prohibition” by the department of employment and labour after inspectors found that the building’s roof, electrical wiring and plumbing made it unsafe for tenants and the public.
The ECDC then put forward its plans to replace the roof, electrical works, plumbing works, ventilation and windows, and repaint the building.
The mall has a total floor area of 9,206m² of retail space with offices for 93 tenants. The renovations were expected to be completed in September 2025.
Tenants were then sent letters, dated January 12 informing them of the mall’s closure at the end of January.
However, work is yet to start on the building, with only minor repairs made in June.
According to the ECDC’s acting executive manager of properties and infrastructure management services, Norman Trimalley, the delays were due to emergency repairs that needed to be undertaken to avoid all the tenants having to leave, as per labour compliance requirements.
On Friday, it was business as usual at the mall, with the roof structure still the same but with some sections patched.
Most businesses were operating, including hawkers.
Speaking on behalf of the tenants, business owner Alpha Dlamini said they were frustrated by the delay in the upgrades and were willing to give the development corporation a month to start groundwork.
“We were prepared to give them a month and be moved to a temporary structure so that they could at least remove the roof.
“When it is raining, people use [buckets] to remove the water and block leaks filling the floor.
“We asked officials from the ECDC about this two weeks back and they have been playing hide-and-seek, we asked about the leaking, they said they will look into it.”
Dlamini said some of the businesses had contemplated not paying rent as a form of protest.
“In January, they rushed us with evacuation. It seems like us tenants must keep quiet and let the media, the municipality and also the labour department fight this battle.
“We pay a lot of money here for the type of environment we work in and some businesses have threatened to not pay rent.
“I pay R2,000 rent and some pay up to R9,000, compared to the service we receive.”
Trimalley, however, insisted that there were no roof leaks and said some pipes from the roof were identified to have minor leaks which were being attended to.
He said the delay could affect the September 2025 deadline for the completion of the project.
“The ECDC negotiated with the department of labour and employment to avoid a complete shutdown of the mall during the renovation period to avoid job losses.
“To achieve this, the department requested that we attend to emergency repairs that included the roof.
“This would render the building compliant and keep tenants operating during renovations,” he said.
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