[Image: Wikimedia Commons]
Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has outlined plans to use the Expropriation Act to “repurpose” hijacked and abandoned buildings within its centres, with just under 100 buildings already identified.
Morero outlined this plan in an exclusive interview with the Mail & Guardian, where he stressed the need to address the problem of derelict and illegally occupied buildings in the city.
The issue of hijacked, abandoned, and crumbling buildings is not a new problem for South Africa’s economic hub.
As early as 2016, Herman Mashaba, then mayor of Johannesburg, noted that around 643 buildings were identified to have been hijacked.
However, according to BusinessTech, recent estimates now put that number at around 1,100 buildings, which are controlled by criminal syndicates who exploit vulnerable people, charging them rent for staying in unsafe and overcrowded conditions.
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and other city officials have undertaken operations to reclaim these properties, but the process of clearing out the often unsafe buildings has hit numerous obstacles, including legal battles, threats of violence from the hijackers, and the obvious need to find alternative housing for displaced occupants.
During his oversight mission in March, President Ramaphosa slammed the state of decay evident in Johannesburg’s inner city.
“You have many abandoned buildings. Buildings that have either been hijacked and are not paying rates and taxes. These abandoned buildings, where the owners have run away, should be subjected to the law we have just passed, expropriation, even without compensation,” he said.
Ramaphosa’s backup singer, Minister Sihle Zikalala, agreed with his boss and raised the Expropriation Act as a solution.
“Those hijacked and abandoned buildings in Joburg can be used for public purposes, such as low-cost housing for South Africans, restoring dignity for our people through the Expropriation Act.”
Expropriating land in the public interest seems to be the part the city of Johannesburg will be using to take over buildings it deems abandoned and derelict.
Morero noted that government-owned buildings will be the first to be addressed, but highlighted that expropriation must be extended to privately owned land.
Just under 50 hijacked buildings belonged to the government, while more than 400 belonged to private owners who are now overseas or deceased.
“Just under 100, we can’t find the owners, they have abandoned the buildings. On those, we will do sale of execution and possible expropriation.”
He added that the abandoned hijacked buildings will be used for the public good, focusing on addressing the City’s housing backlog.
“The City is facing a backlog of around 300,000 people waiting for homes, and we need to find innovative and efficient ways to address this urgent need for affordable housing for qualifying citizens.”
While there are indeed instances when the new law is justified, Morero did note: “With the Expropriation Act, which is not controversial, it’s the right thing to do. We all appreciate and acknowledge the indigenous people of this country,” he said.
“The land was taken away from them, so there’s nothing controversial; it is a redress of what has happened in the past.”
“We want to take buildings that have become a nuisance for society and turn them into housing opportunities or student accommodation. That is for the public good, and there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Very rarely does the ANC’s definition of “for the public good” translate to anything good for the public, so we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.
[Source: BusinessTech]
