The pink Westpoint Lodge, which is located opposite the entrance to the Durban Arbour, was once a treasure for the city.
Image: EThekwini Municipality
The eThekwini Municipality has pulled the handbrake on taking over the iconic Westpoint Lodge building in Durban that is currently occupied by squatters and owned by the KZN Department of Public Work.
On Wednesday, the eThekwini Municipality sent out a detailed statement inviting the media to a "joint handover event of the hijacked Westpoint Lodge building" between KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC, Martin Meyer, and the Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Cyril Xaba.
The municipality's communication unit had said the joint initiative follows a recent signing of "a historic, one-of-a-kind Memorandum of Understanding between the National Public Works and Infrastructure Department, KZN Public Works and Infrastructure Department, and the eThekwini Municipality to jointly tackle the issue of hijacked and abandoned buildings, and by doing so address various needs such as housing, social services, among others".
The pink Westpoint Lodge, located opposite the entrance to the Durban Harbour, was once a treasure for the city.
However in a statement on Thursday the City said they regret to inform the media that the handover ceremony has been postponed to a later date.
"This decision has been taken to allow the City and the Provincial Government sufficient time to finalise all required processes and ensure a seamless handover. We are committed to conducting the ceremony as soon as possible and will work closely with our provincial counterparts to confirm a new date. We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of all stakeholders, including the media, and will provide updates on the new date for the handover ceremony in due course".
*This story has been edited. In a previous version of the story we incorrectly attributed the wrong spokesperson and said the building was free of squatters which it is not.
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