Johannesburg - The residents of Vannin Court in Hillbrow, one of the hijacked and dilapidated buildings in the area, said they would not allow city officials to move them to shelters.
This comes after two of the City of Joburg’s Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs), Kenny Kunene for transport and Dr Mgcini Tshwaku for public safety, visited the city centre yesterday for yet another inspection of hijacked and dilapidated buildings.
Kunene and Tshwaku employed the help of law-enforcement agencies as they assessed the levels of dysfunction of Vannin Court, an eight-storey building on Pietersen Street.
According to the residents, the building has been without electricity and water for almost a year, even though they are forced to pay rent.
A mother of six, who declined to be named, told The Star that they wanted the government to arrange low-cost housing and not send them to shelters.
“I stay with five children, and my youngest child has asthma due to the living conditions here. If it is the shelter they want us to move to, we will not accept their offer. We are better off here, as we live with our children and their fathers.
“We will not have freedom, and they will tell us to go to the park during the day. What will happen to us when it rains? All we want is for the government to move us to low-cost flats where we can pay rent. We are already paying rent of R500 to R1200 here. We can pay rent,” the mother said.
Another resident of the crime-ridden flat said it was not the first time that city officials had visited them with a promise of better accommodation.
“In March, we were told by the same man in red overalls that we must pack our things and they will pick us up and take us somewhere. Today, the same man is here telling us the same thing. We are being made fools.
“All we want is proper housing so we can pay rent, but they will not allow us that because they want us to give them pay slips. Where will we get pay slips when we are unemployed and survive on informal work and grants?” the elderly woman said.
The MMCs’ visit follows reports that three people died in the area on Monday and incidents of crime had been reported to have taken place inside the building and around the area.
Speaking to the media following the visit, Tshwaku said they were in the process of revealing the names of the syndicates that run and collect rent from hijacked buildings.
He said there were more than 30 buildings owned by the city that had been hijacked and taken over by well-established and moneyed syndicates.
“According to GFIS (Group Forensic and Investigation Service), there are about 600 hijacked buildings, and of those, about 25 to 30 are owned by the city.
“The rest are owned by private owners, NGOs and cartels. It is true that you could be sitting in the building and owning it, but the ownership can be changed because of a dysfunctional property management committee.”
Tshwaku said the city would prepare a notice informing residents of Vannin Court that the building would be closed and that those affected would be accommodated in a shelter.
“We must deal with these criminals, and we must deport all those who do not have the right documents,” Kunene said.
The Star