A Johannesburg official rejected the idea of negotiating with building hijackers, shifting focus to a massive housing shortage. Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, the EFF's Public Safety MMC, responded to criticism from former mayor Herman Mashaba by stating the city cannot reclaim hundreds of derelict inner city properties because it lacks alternative accommodation for occupants. He cited the Usindiso Commission report, which identified extreme poverty as the primary driver behind these occupied buildings, not criminal syndicates alone.
Tshwaku proposed a model of engaging with current tenants, establishing city-managed rent collection, and conducting safety upgrades in place to avoid mass evictions required by law. Mashaba, now leading ActionSA, criticized this approach as dangerously naive, advocating instead for identifying and expropriating hijacked buildings for private redevelopment, a plan he initiated during his mayoral term.
The debate underscores a complex crisis where lawful evictions are stalled by the city's inability to provide temporary emergency housing, a constitutional obligation. The Usindiso Commission findings support the need for a blended strategy combining social intervention with targeted enforcement, as purely punitive measures fail to address the root cause of widespread homelessness and housing backlogs in Johannesburg.
Tshwaku proposed a model of engaging with current tenants, establishing city-managed rent collection, and conducting safety upgrades in place to avoid mass evictions required by law. Mashaba, now leading ActionSA, criticized this approach as dangerously naive, advocating instead for identifying and expropriating hijacked buildings for private redevelopment, a plan he initiated during his mayoral term.
The debate underscores a complex crisis where lawful evictions are stalled by the city's inability to provide temporary emergency housing, a constitutional obligation. The Usindiso Commission findings support the need for a blended strategy combining social intervention with targeted enforcement, as purely punitive measures fail to address the root cause of widespread homelessness and housing backlogs in Johannesburg.
