Since July, over 260 people have been arrested during raids of hijacked buildings.
This is an attempt, Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba said, to take the rule of law back from ‘criminal elements like landlords taking advantage of desperate people and housing them under deplorable conditions’.
The latest raid of hijacked and ‘bad’ buildings in the inner city saw the arrest of 32 apparent undocumented immigrants who were detained at Hillbrow Police Station. The mayor said that immigration officers from the Department of Home Affairs were due to process those who were arrested, to get the relevant information.
This is the latest in a string of raids conducted by the City’s own Group Forensic and Investigation Services Unit, the South African Police Services, Johannesburg Metro Police, Emergency Management Services and even the City’s Environmental Health, Citizen Relationship and Urban Management and Social Development departments.
The operation, the mayor said, is also focused on collecting data about the people living in the buildings, including their sex, age and employment status. “It is vital that we profile occupants living in these buildings and ensure that together with the rightful owners we are able to find alternative accommodation for them where required,” he said.
This time, Remington Building, Rotary House and New Nation Hotel in the Joburg CBD were targeted. The property owners were even slapped with compliance noticeS.
These buildings are but three of somewhat 500 bad buildings, about 134 of which have been confirmed as hijacked. Mashaba said 24 of the 500 bad buildings belong to the City.
“All of these buildings represent opportunities for creating affordable housing,” he said.
But not everyone is happy about the mayor’s way of doing things.
WATCH: Joburg Today – Inner city revitalisation programme
In August, the Socio-economic Rights Institue (Seri), condemned these raids. The organisation said authorities conducting the raids cannot storm into buildings and brand every inhabitant, without any evidence, as criminals while subjecting them to unlawful searches.
The institute is also concerned about the City’s reliance on the private sector to provide affordable housing since they are likely to charge much more than people can afford, simply to make a profit, Seri said.
Seri said that in a 2013 analysis of rental accommodation in the inner city, while criminal activity does occur in some ‘bad’ buildings, this was not a defining feature of these buildings.
It added that these buildings provide accommodation for poor people who would otherwise not be able to afford to live in the inner city.
Two weeks ago, the council decided that 12 City-owned properties will be made available to create low-cost housing.
ALSO READ:
Plans for inner city housing challenge
