The ward 66 councillor called on the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) to stop the growing ‘illegal city’ within the city.
Clr Carlos Da Rocha made the statement after a tour through his ward with the CoJ Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Development and Planning, Clr Ros Greeff.
The tour included different departments of the city and took place on September 17.
Clr Da Rocha said the tour occurred following ongoing complaints from residents about illegal buildings in different parts of his ward.
He said many illegal buildings are built without approval from the CoJ and developers develop without plans.
“They submit the plans to the CoJ after construction. This has proved to be a daunting, slow and expensive job as the city has to wait for the outcome of the court proceedings before taking action,” he said.
Clr Da Rocha accused developers of arrogance.
“They do not care about residents. They do not listen to the instructions from the city’s officials. Some of them continue building even when they are told to stop,” he said.
Clr Da Rocha said this is an ongoing problem throughout the city.
“This is not only restricted to my ward. People are buying properties in different parts of the city. They build in their backyard or add onto their existing houses. This is done without approved plans,” said Clr Da Rocha.
He said illegal buildings are affecting the property values in the area and it contributes to the degradation of the area.
“A house zoned for one family can suddenly have at least four to five families. The city will allocate one refuse bin but due to the number of people who have to use it, it does not cope. As a result, some of these people throw their refuse onto street corners,” he said.
He urged residents to apply to the CoJ before they add any buildings to their properties.
“Send your building plans to the city. Inspectors will look at it and approve or advise you on what needs to be changed if you have to change. If you follow all the steps, you will be accommodating many people around you,” he said.
Clr Da Rocha said the city should demolish illegally constructed buildings in the area.
“They did not follow the city’s by-laws. They built without approved plans. That alone makes their buildings illegal and the city has to demolish them, not to wait for the long court processes,” he said.
The EXPRESS sent an inquiry to CoJ on September 21 and requested comment by September 23.
At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.
