Clifton cottage left to vagrants

19 November 2013 - 02:48 By QUINTON MTYALA
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NEIGHBOURHOOD NUISANCE: Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Equatorial Guinea's vice-president and son of the country's leader, paid R23-million for this bungalow in Clifton but never occupied it
NEIGHBOURHOOD NUISANCE: Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Equatorial Guinea's vice-president and son of the country's leader, paid R23-million for this bungalow in Clifton but never occupied it
Image: HALDEN KROG

Millionaire homeowners are demanding that the City of Cape Town take action against a neighbour who has not occupied his house since it was bought almost 10 years ago.

The Clifton Bungalow Owners' Association wants the house of Equatorial Guinea's vice-president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, to be declared derelict because it has fallen into disrepair and had been taken over by vagrants and rats.

The association's Emma Fonzari said the property had been reported to the city council with the request that it be declared a "problem building" and in breach of by-laws.

A neighbour, Soren Elvin-Jensen, said it was unacceptable that the authorities had allowed the house to fall into "rack and ruin".

"It lowers the value of the neighbourhood," Elvin-Jensen said of the vagrants, who have made use of the luxury surroundings and doubtless enjoy the ocean views.

The city's executive director for safety, RichardBosman, said the status of the building was under investigation.

Fonzari said residents were trying to discover whether the playboy owner, known for splashing cash on sports cars and dating rapper Eve, had paid property rates. If not, the city could take possession of the house.

"If has not paid his rates, it would mean that he owes the city several million rands," Fonzari said.

Obiang Mangue, the son of his country's president, bought the bungalow on Clifton's Fourth Beach, in 2004 for R23.5-million.

His Bishopscourt mansion, which was put on the market for R35-million in 2011, has also stood empty since he bought it in 2004.

Both properties were the subject of court action by South Africans owed money by Equatorial Guinea's government for work they had done.

Chris Schoeman, representing Obiang Mangue's creditors, said Obiang Mangue had not been to South Africa for six years.

"If he comes [here] I will have him arrested for fraud. He owes South African creditors between R80-million and R100-million," he said.

A spokesman at Equatorial Guinea's embassy in Pretoria refused to comment.

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