The department of development planning on behalf of the City of Johannesburg demolished an illegal building at Derrick Avenue in Cyrildene on August 31.
This follows efforts by CoJ to give the property owner opportunities to amend their property in order for them to comply with by-laws.
The management of development planning recently resolved to enforce outstanding 54 court orders where property owners had failed to adhere to the building regulations of the city.
Ward 118 Clr Neuren Pietersen said additions to the building were made without council approval.
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“The owner did not rectify the structure and the decision was made to execute the demolishing order. The illegal structures formed part of a restaurant,” he said.
Pietersen said there are currently 28 demolishing orders throughout Johannesburg.
“The operation is sensitive and thus the addresses of the other orders will not be made available to the public at large until the relevant order is being carried out.
“This operation is in line with the executive mayor of Johannesburg Clr Herman Mashaba’s vision of BuyaMthetho.
“For too long the rule of law has been eroded in favour of corruption and ignoring the processes of the city. These processes are there to make living in Johannesburg possible. If they are flouted then it will just be a matter of time before the infrastructure that makes Johannesburg a convenient place to live begins to collapse as it will not have been designed to support the increased densities and pressures being exerted upon it. People often feel that legitimate densification will do the same. The difference is that when development goes through the correct channels, then the infrastructure gets upgraded as well as this is taken into consideration when plans are passed,” he said.
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Pietersen said he is pleased to see the operation being carried out in ward 118.
“Our neighbourhood has experienced many infrastructural failures and BuyaMthetho is what is needed to put Johannesburg back on the road to prosperity,” he said.
Cyrildene residents also welcomed the decision taken the by the city to demolish the building.
Godfrey Mothibe who has been a resident of Cyrildene since 2006 said he is pleased to see CoJ fighting against corruption in all ways possible.
“We as a community unanimously agreed to put a stop to illegal buildings,” he said.
