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Herman Mashaba threatens to sue Home Affairs

The City of Johannesburg is investigating all legal options in a bid to compel the Department of Home Affairs to address illegal immigration in the city.

 Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba said in a statement on Thursday that he had instructed the city’s legal team to look at all legal options‚ and that he expected court papers to be filed in the coming weeks.

 Mashaba said the challenge of illegal immigration in Johannesburg had reached crisis level.

 He said he had tried on numerous occasions to seek an audience with the Department of Home Affairs‚ in good faith‚ but that these attempts had been in vain.

 “The Department of Home Affairs has a constitutional obligation to address this issue. So far‚ the department’s conduct on this matter can be described in one word: dismal‚” Mashaba said.

 Mashaba said he had tried for over a year‚ with two ministers‚ to engage the department on this matter.

 “The City of Johannesburg currently faces a housing backlog of an estimated 300 000 units. I have stated on numerous occasions that I believe the inner city holds the perfect solution to this challenge‚ with the opportunity of government partnering with the private sector to create high-rise‚ densified‚ low-cost‚ quality accommodation‚” Mashaba said.

 He said the City had already taken steps to ensure that this solution became a reality. Council had approved the administration’s plans for the inner city.

The City had conducted numerous raids on hijacked buildings‚ in which the number of undocumented immigrants was revealed.

He said it was “essential that national government cleans up its act” and ensured that undocumented immigrants were identified and processed‚ and that legal documentation be expeditiously provided to those who qualified.

Mashaba said illegal immigration compounded serious challenges for the provision of temporary emergency accommodation for residents and other basic services in Johannesburg.