A greenbelt in Ferndale is now littered with shacks, rubbish and insecurity
Ward 104 councillor Emi Koekemoer next to a government-owned property, which was hijacked, along Cork Street in Ferndale, Randburg, on 23 March 2026. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen
The City of Joburg and police are turning a blind eye to the “slumification” of Ferndale in Randburg, according to residents.
Community members said several incidents were reported to the municipality about five years ago, but no efforts were made to address the situation.
Resident Arthur Moleko said his upmarket apartment was surrounded by shacks and abandoned houses – some of which are allegedly operating as brothels.
Crime in Ferndale
Crime was also rampant in the area, Moleko said. “This area used to be safe and decent, but now we are no longer safe.
“There is a house next door accommodating many people, and on weekends, they play loud music and drink alcohol.
“Actually, we are talking about 100 people going in and out. Well, they are very rude and loud. There are insults all night and fights. A few months ago, they broke into my place and stole valuables.”
Police accused of not taking action
Moleko claimed when residents report incidents to police, nothing was done because some of the problematic houses were owned by prominent people.
Another resident, Godwin Perils, said when he bought a flat in the area about 10 years ago, life was good, “but now the area is horrible and crime infested”.
Perils said everything happening in the area was against the municipal bylaws, but the government did not take any action.
“Last year, when I visited my family in another province, there was a break-in and they stole some furniture, including my TV, phone and a computer,” he said.
Break-in
Perils suspected the break-in had something to do with his new neighbours who were staying in shacks erected in the same yard as a dilapidated mansion.
“Everybody needs a place to stay, but what they’re doing is that they are inviting anybody off the streets with the signs in front of the gate,” he said.
He said his lawyers were in the process of compelling the municipality to take action.
When The Citizen visited Long Avenue, journalists were shown a huge yard with three big dilapidated buildings owned by the Gauteng department of infrastructure development.
Support needed from City of Joburg
A source said the decaying structures had been protected by security firms for about 10 years. Ward 104 councillor Emi Koekemoer said the fight against the slumification of Ferndale was in vain without the support of the City of Joburg and other authorities.
“Some officials came here complaining about non-payment of rates and investigated all the affected buildings.
They just gave the occupiers a warning for not paying their rates,” said Koekemoer. “Other than that, nothing has been done to address the matter.
“After the raid, there was no follow-up. The DA investigated the continuous slumification of the area, but the government is not doing anything about it.”
Bylaws not implemented
She said since she became a councillor, only one hijacked property case was resolved out of the 53 cases they had in the area.
Due to the government’s failure to address the situation, there were people – especially foreign nationals – who rented in the yard of the abandoned houses, and they continued erecting structures, while some houses were reportedly being used as brothels, Koekemoer said.
The only solution was to demolish the structures and convert some into public facilities such as health care centres, she added.
“There are bylaws preventing the slumification of areas like these, but no-one is willing to implement them.
“Police were supposed to arrest the illegal foreigners who are staying in these houses and deport them. Some of these houses have not been hijacked, but the owners just left after realising they owed a lot of money in rates.
“While some opted to rent out the houses at lower amounts to people who just erected shacks.”
No help from government
Bronweyn Craig, deputy chair for the Bryanfern Residents Association, said they also tried to convince the government to address the crisis, but to no avail.
Craig said at the beginning of 2023, they received complaints about recyclers living and burning rubbish in the Ferndale Bird Sanctuary on the corner of Vale and Oxford Street.
“We then discovered that Joburg Water had at some point broken the fence on Rocky Street to do a sewage repair in the greenbelt. The fence is designed to protect the bird sanctuary and greenbelt by reducing human impact,” she said.
“This is where the problem started. Joburg Water never repaired the fence. Then recyclers started moving in.
“There are shacks and mounds of recycling littering and a serious sanitation issue in the river area. Crime in the area has also increased. The security company in the area is trying to deal with the issue. This matter has been reported multiple times and via various channels, including the police.”
Promises unfulfilled
Craig said a year ago, the authorities promised to clean up the place, but that “we want our greenbelt to be cleared of squatters and rubbish, and the fence to be reinstated without delay”.
“Residents can no longer use this once beautiful space for community walks.”
The City of Joburg promised to comment on the matter, but had not done so at the time of publishing.
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