South Africa: Msunduzi Cannot Say How Much It Spent On This Vandalised Community Centre

The municipality failed to complete the project and left it to ruin

A large community centre remains incomplete in Edendale, a township just outside of Pietermaritzburg. The double-storey structure appeared to be almost completed in 2019, but was never finished.

The centre, located in ward 22, has now become a dumping site following years of neglect.,

Community members first heard about the idea to construct a community centre in 2011, with construction starting around 2017, said Ikhwezilokusa Development Programme chairperson Madoda Hlophe.

Around 2019, a roof was placed on the building, and construction seemed near completion, said Hlophe. However, work on the project abruptly stopped and never restarted.

In the following years, the building began to fall into disrepair, with vandalism and illegal dumping frequently taking place, he said.

When GroundUp visited the site in May, refuse was piled up both inside and outside of the structure, and the interior had been stripped of wiring and plumbing. The roof was also missing and puddles of water pooled on the floor.

Msundizi spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize said the project was originally intended to accommodate youth empowerment programmes, skills development, and community support services.

However, the project was derailed due to vandalism and destruction of infrastructure, said Mkhize. "These criminal acts resulted in significant damage to the facility and undermined progress towards completion."

In answer to questions on how much had already been spent on the project, Mkhize stated that the Municipality was "consolidating and verifying historical project records". When asked how long this would take, Mkhize suggested GroundUp submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request for the information, as the person who used to run the project had retired.

Mkhize did not answer several other questions, including when the project began and what the original budget was.

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Municipal reports on the project are also vague, only referencing a "youth centre" in ward 22 needing to be completed. No budgets or timelines for the project seem to be publicly available.

The first mention of a centre in Edendale is in the 2017/18 annual report, announcing the submission of a report to a Bid Specification Committee for the appointment of a contractor and consulting engineer for the de