EMPD targets overcrowding
The house was home to over 20 people, most of them being individuals from the Congo or Malawi.
Stephan Lehman
Members of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department’s (EMPD) bylaw enforcement unit raided overcrowded properties in Illiondale on March 3.
These properties were reported by members of the Illiondale Residents’ Association.
EMPD members were joined by officials from the city’s health and city planning departments and members from the Edenvale Community Police Forum (ECPF).
The raid began on Cecil Awret Road. One property which was inspected was found to have the interior of the house and the garage partitioned to create make-shift rooms for tenants. The rooms are then rented out for approximately R1 200 a month.
The house was home to over 20 people, most of them being individuals from the Congo or Malawi.
According to Mr Mike Bell, of the ECPF, the electricity had been illegally connected to the house.
While turning off the electricity of the the Cecil Awret house, a resident from a property further down the road informed the authorities of another three properties that had similar issues along Dunbar Rd.
Two of the properties on Dunbar Road were inspected by the authorities, while the third was not, due to no one answering the requests of the EMPD.
The two properties on Dunbar had similar issues as the Cecil Awret property, however the owner of both properties said that not all the people were paying to live there. He said some people were there because they had nowhere else to go and needed help.
“The overcrowding of residential properties happens regularly in Edenvale and the EMPD needs the assistance of the community and neighbours in order to stop problems like these,” said Inspector Martin Koekemoer, of the EMPD.
Although the operation was successful, Mr Bell said that the overcrowding of houses create problems.
The property owner of the Dunbar properties and the property owners representative of the Cecil Awret property were both issued spot notices by the Department of Health, stating that the properties were being run as accommodation establishments without permits, and that the department would conduct a follow-up investigation in 21 days.
