Africa Demolition Contractor Claimed

Part of Skoenlapper house being demolished.
The house, which has been under construction since 2019, has caused outrage among the community as it started to collapse and bring the surrounding houses down with it.

African Demolition Contractors, which has undertaken the demolition, said only half of the partly-built home would be torn down. The company declined to give further comment, referring other questions to the homeowner.

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Francois Swart, the owner of the house behind the property, had to evacuate his home due to structural damage caused by the building.

Last month, the City of Mbombela Local Municipality gave the homeowner until March 18 to stabilise the surrounding properties or they would be forced to demolish the entire home. They did so, but only with temporary solutions.

Now, the Swarts’ insurance expects a letter from the Skoenlapper homeowner’s engineer before repairs can begin on the wall. It also needs access to the Skoenlapper property to fix the damage.

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“The wall is going to cost roughly R2 million, which they will probably claim back (from the Skoenlapper homeonwer),” said Swart.

The homeowner refused to give comment.