Joburg too broke to rehouse hijacked buildings’ residents

So broke is the City of Johannesburg that despite reclaiming 59 hijacked buildings, it does not have land nor money to relocate the squatters. The city has been on a clean-up campaign to take control of hijacked buildings and demolish illegal structures, and still faces the mammoth task of reclaiming a further nearly 500hijacked and illegallyoccupied buildings. The city revealed that it reclaimed and restored at least 59 buildings since 2016 during the tenure of former mayor Herman Mashaba.

It has just over 10 eviction orders but does not have the resources to relocate and accommodate the illegal occupants as required by law. “A significant roadblock is the requirement to provide temporary emergency accommodation for evictees, which the city currently lacks the budget and space to fulfil,” said city spokesperson Virgil James. He said other challenges include internal corruption where city employees alert illegal building operators before scheduled police raids.

James said most of the hijacked buildings had been taken over by syndicates who are constantly on the lookout for unoccupied buildings to hijack. “Mayor Dada Morero has warned that even redeveloped buildings are at risk of being re-hijacked within years if the underlying criminal networks are not dismantled,” said James. He said about200 hijacked buildingshave been officially identified in the Johannesburg CBD, but broader audits suggest the number of derelict or partially hijacked properties could be between 300 and 500.

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At least 188 audited hijacked buildings still remain under unlawful occupation, while 119 properties have been referred to external attorneys for further legal action. “The issue of hijacked buildings in Johannesburg remains one of the city’s biggest challenges because many of these buildings are linked to criminal syndicates, illegal utility connections and dangerous living conditions,” said James.

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