Illegal occupants evicted in Fleurhof
The City was not ordered to provide alternative accommodation as the court did not deem the invaders as destitute.
On Monday, 23 July about 90 illegal occupants were evicted from homes in Fleurhof.
According MMC for Housing, councillor Meshack van Wyk, the houses were built by Calgro M3, a developer that has a cooperation agreement with the City of Joburg.
“It is important to clarify that the City of Joburg is not directly involved in the evictions as it is the developer who applied for the order and carried it out. We have ascertained from the developer that court processes were followed and that the invaders were informed of the pending evictions in April after the eviction order had been obtained,” he explained.
However, the City was not ordered to provide alternative accommodation as the court did not deem the invaders as destitute.
“Whilst this is a private case, it is in our interest as a caring and law-abiding government to put the interests of those who have been waiting patiently first.
For almost 18 months the invaders prevented us from allocating the homes to the rightful beneficiaries, some of whom had applied for housing in 1996,” he added.
Meshack also mentioned that the beneficiaries now have to wait longer because the invaded houses need to be repaired first. This will have a detrimental effect as the money going onto repairs could have been utilised to build more houses.
He concluded by saying, “It is therefore my request as the MMC responsible for Housing that we work together and adhere to the laws governing this country and not hinder processes that are to the benefit of our communities. My office remains open for engagements that will take us forward.”
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