HAZARD: Bricks lie scattered across the grass where a wall of one of the derelict buildings between Port Alfred Hospital and the Kowie Bowls Club has collapsed. Displaced people, including drug addicts, have made the area their home and some members of the public who use the adjacent facilities are concerned about safety. Pictures: SUE MACLENNAN
The derelict buildings between Port Alfred Hospital and the Kowie Bowls Club are dirty and falling apart and because they’re deserted, displaced people, including drug addicts, have made the area their home. But while theft in the town in general has increased compared to last year, no violent crimes reported in Port Alfred during the past year have occurred in that area.
Talk of the Town recently visited the area following concerns from members of the public who use the adjacent facilities. South of the buildings are the public hospital and clinic; north and north-east of them are the Kowie Bowls Club and a field used for soccer, cricket and athletics.
President of the Kowie Bowls Club, Dave Thomas, said he couldn’t understand why one of the buildings, burnt out several years ago, and owned by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, hadn’t been demolished years ago.
“It’s [structurally] dangerous for the people who use it as shelter. But it also feels dangerous for people coming to practice their sports because the same building shelters vagrants.”
Thomas said there had been no incidents of theft or violence, “But it’s uncomfortable and we think everyone concerned needs to cooperate to improve the situation.”
Talk of the Town spoke to people who live in sections of the derelict buildings as well as people who use the buildings and surroundings bushes to use drugs. We also sent questions to the police, the Department of Public Works and Infrastucture (DPWI), Ndlambe Municipality’s community safety directorate, the Department of Social Development and a local NGO.
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The police confirmed that no violent incidents have been reported in the area during the past year.
Responding to TOTT’s query, SAPS spokesperson Captain Marius McCarthy said, “We can confirm that the South African Police Service does have a problem with vacant, dilapidated buildings in Port Alfred. Vagrants moved into the buildings next to the hospital that have been vacant for the last couple of years.”
But while theft cases in Port Alfred in general had increased compared to last year, no case of robbery or attempted murder had been reported occurring in the area adjacent to the hospital.
“Vagrants mostly operate in town performing car guard duties to maintain their lifestyle and habits,” McCarthy said. “Cases of assault GBH are mostly domestic related and liquor related and no direct connection can be made with vagrants or the homeless.”
The Eastern Cape’s Department of Public Works and Infrastructure says its responsibility regarding the buildings it owns is to ensure that they are utilised for service delivery.
“This is in line with Section 3 of the Government Immovable Asset Management Act (GIAMA),” said director of the department’s Communication Services Vuyani Nkasayi.
As for the plans for the buildings: “The DPWI has engaged the Department of Health, as represented by the Port Alfred Hospital, on 10 October 2025, under which these buildings are managed.
“A formal response is still awaited from the Department of Health; however, an indication was given that DPWI is involved in the plans to renovate the said buildings.”
‘It’s like we’ve got “drugs” written on our faces’
Next week, Talk of the Town shares some of the hopes, dreams and fears of the people who live in and around the dilapidated buildings, and we speak to some of the organisations and individuals trying to help them.
This article was first published in Talk of the Town, October 16, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays
