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Germiston’s hijacked buildings: Residents exploited, living in squalor
'Mr president, on Thursday, when you address South Africans, let's talk about these lived experiences', Herman Mashaba said.
Photo: ActionSA/Marcia Barron
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba was invited by the Germiston Business Forum to inspect hijacked buildings in the neighbourhood.
“We are going to do everything possible to ensure we protect our country from being hijacked by internal crime syndicates,” Mashaba said on Tuesday.
Germison’s hijacked buildings
At one of the buildings in Germiston, Herman Mashaba said they found tenants – in some instances, a family of 4 or more – paying R1 700 in cash per month for a small room.
Mashaba said he wanted to know from the local municipality why the building was still connected to water and power infrastructure, even though it was considered a ‘hijacked building’.
Exploitation and illegal connections
The Gauteng-based business forum also found a suspected illegal connection in a creche operating out of one of the hijacked buildings.
He said the business forum will be going to the municipality once the site visit has been concluded, adding that the municipality “will have to explain, how is this happening under their watch”.
WATCH: Illegal connections at creche
However, after visiting the Office of the City Manager on Tuesday, the manager wasn’t available to talk about the issue.
In other buildings, Mashaba said, the “conditions are dire; illegal connections, children roaming around in the building.
No assistance from courts
Eric Sithole, a member of the Germiston Business Forum, said he purchased Eric’s Palace – a building with eight residential units and three commercial units – for R2.6 million in 2008.
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He is currently paying approximately R27 000 per month, even though the building had been hijacked in 2017.
“I’ve been in and out of the courts, I managed to get a court order in 2020 [but] couldn’t execute the order due to the pandemic and Covid regulations.”
Sithole said he received a quotation for an eviction order, but “it is too much for me, I don’t think in the state of the property now, it makes sense to evict the people now. I’ll rather just walk away from it.”
WATCH: Tenants being exploited
Mashaba also said there was no excuse for the ANC government at this stage. He showed a hijacked building situated next to a SASAA building.
“So we have lawlessness and criminality happening right in front of government offices. I don’t know really what excuse they can tell us of not having any knowledge of hijacked buildings.
“Mr president, on Thursday, when you address South Africans, let’s talk about the lived experiences of South Africans.”
ALSO READ: Billions owed to City Power as it ramps up revenue collection
‘Even police afraid of these thugs’
Back in 2022, the Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association (JPOMA) called on the City to take action against the syndicates who hijack buildings in the inner city.
JPOMA’s general manager, Angela Rivers, said the situation had escalated in recent years, turning the inner city into a crime hotspot.
Rivers said: “The issue is such a thorn in the city’s side, and our research indicates that there are criminals who have been getting away with this for a decade or more.
“They undermine the law, rule with violence and allow the complete degradation of buildings in the inner city as the services get cut off due to non-payment. Even the police are afraid to confront these thugs.”
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