Pietermaritzburg City Hall gets a new roof after thieves stripped the old one

Durban - After the old one was stripped down to the wires by criminals, the Pietermaritzburg City Hall has been fitted with a new roof.

A few minor details left, and the City Hall roof will be as good as new, the Msunduzi Municipality was reported saying.

Repairs on the structure started earlier this year, after it had found that more than half of the copper roof had been stolen unhindered over the years.

The stolen copper sheeting led to the dilapidation of the structure internally as well, as water leaks caused the building’s aesthetic integrity to be compromised, according to an IOL report last year.

This image shows the extent of the theft from the roof of the Pietermaritzburg City Hall that was stripped by a copper thief without anyone noticing. Picture: courtesy Burkhard Scholsser

The Msunduzi Municipality has allocated R1 million towards the repair project and will be using an alternative to copper, which is a hot commodity among criminals in SA as of late.

Municipal spokesperson, Ntobeko Mkhize was quoted saying the work was going to include replacing the timber, roof sheeting and installation of new gutters and piping.

The Msunduzi Municipality told IOL on Wednesday that copper was replaced with Green Chromodek, which is 1% scrap metal value.

It said security has also been increased at the century old relic.

“Now that leaks have been addressed, funding of R700,000 has been made available in this financial year to attend to the repairs to the ceiling and internal mouldings,” it said.

Last year, images emerged showing the extent of damages inside the City Hall.

It was reported that the Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics (Marrc) vehemently opposed the City’s decision to fund Maritzburg FC, when heritage sites were falling apart.

The Msunduzi Municipality is facing fresh criticism over its priorities in managing ratepayers funds after new images have emerged of the extent of the damage of the historic Pietermaritzburg City Hall’s roof and the subsequent damage inside the building that was caused when a thief stripped the roof of its copper sheeting. Picture courtesy of Burkhard Scholsser.

IOL asked Marrc’s Lara Edmunds what she made of the repairs to the roof.

“We are delighted that the roof is covered but in the last two, in the time that there hasn’t been a roof, KwaZulu-Natal and Pietermaritzburg has seen a lot of rain and that subsequently damaged the inside of the City Hall.

“We want to see that hall renovated. It is an asset to the City and could actually generate revenue,” Edmunds told IOL.

The City chose to fund the privately owned Maritzburg FC to the tune of R27 million over a three year period.

The Municipality backed their move to fund the club, saying it brought it economic spin-off’s by having the club there.

It is still not clear as to how the thieves were able to gain access into the hall, given that it has 24-hour security guards, according to the Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla.

IOL

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