WESTDENE – Mayor Herman Mashaba and his team visited Brixton and Westdene to learn about the issues residents were facing.
Residents have been frustrated for an array of reasons. These range from crime and illegally occupied properties, to the lack of service delivery.
Two weeks after the Northcliff Melville Times reported on the drama ensuing from the notorious 10A property, Mashaba brought his team of councillors and by-law enforcement officers to visit these communities to assess the situation himself. He said, “I visited a number of hijacked and so-called bad properties which community members had raised concerns about within the areas.”
One of the properties he visited was the notorious 10A in Westdene. The neighbours of 10A have identified the property as a thorn in their sides and have alleged that it is a hive of criminal activity and inhuman living conditions. Mashaba said, “Without fail, the six properties identified today, including the infamous 10A in Westdene appear to have all been hijacked, with slumlords benefiting from residents living in inhumane conditions within the properties.”
Mashaba added that 10A was one of three properties that allegedly belonged to one individual. “I am advised that three of the properties are said to belong to a single individual who continues to not only evade taking responsibility for the properties but also consistently evaded our policing authorities. It is alleged that he owns 60 other properties within the city which are in a similar condition.”
To address this matter, Mashaba delegated his team to investigate a possible long-term solution to these problems. “I have instructed the City to begin investigating the process for expropriating these properties for the purpose of ensuring that they are developed into affordable, safe and quality accommodation for some of our poorest residents.”
He also requested that the City, Department of Social Development, Metro police, police and Department of Home Affairs immigration officers conduct an audit of persons living in these identified properties.
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Westdene’s 10A resident shares the realities of the building from within
