Joburg unable to find alternative housing

Stagnant water filled with diapers and sanitary towels are among things causing a stink for residents at one of the hijacked buildings in the Johannesburg CBD.

When Sowetan visited Casa Mia, it was welcomed by a heavy stench from the building, which has been deemed unsafe for human inhabitation.

Hundreds of people from several hijacked buildings in the CBD found unsafe still occupy those buildings and have not been moved because of challenges in finding alternative accommodation.

The city has obtained nine judgments to evacuate residents from unsafe buildings. Two judgments are still pending before the court.

Sowetan has visited six buildings in the city and some of those were still occupied by residents. Court documents show about 300 people occupied two of the hijacked buildings. 

Public safety MMC Dr Mgcini Tshwaku told Sowetan that the main issue why residents from those buildings had not been moved was because “the city is struggling to find alternative accommodation. We are ready to move them, but we are trying to find temporary housing for them.”

On Sunday morning, emergency personnel responded to a fire at a hijacked building on Commissioner Street, and they struggled to gain access to the building, which had shacks inside. 

Two people died and a woman,30, accused of starting the fire following a domestic feud has since been arrested and charged with murder. 

About 103 people have

been displaced and were moved to a sports centre. The city said it had provided them with tents.  

On Monday, residents of Vannin Court in the CBD said they were informed last year by city officials that they would be moving to shacks in Denver. The residents who were found sitting outside the building said they were not willing to be moved to shacks. 

“We are refusing to be moved to shacks. We also deserve nice things, and the city has nice flats, so why not move us there and then we will see who can’t afford to rent – we don’t have a problem renting,” said a woman who refused to be named.

The woman lives with three of her children and three other minor children in the building. She said she’s been living in the building for more than 20 years.

“The [city] doesn’t care about us. We know this building is not safe and we do not have water and also don’t have electricity. I have never lived in a shack before and shacks are also not safe, so I am not going there,” she said.

Another woman who has lived in the building for more than 30 years said she was ready to be moved to a safer space but not a shack.

“We don’t have water and electricity in this building, and it is not safe so that is why I want them to move me from here. The roof leaks during the rain, so I am willing to find a place, even if it means paying rent but it should not be more than R1,000,” she said.

Some residents of Casa Mia in the CBD confirmed the city had engaged with them about evacuating them to other areas, but they were still unclear on its plans.

“I am willing to move because this building is not safe and I live here with my family,” said a man who asked not to be named. The man from KZN said he moved into the building rent-free in 2018 and hoped the city would move them to cheaper accommodation.  

Joburg city manager Floyd Brink said: “We are moving into a space of evacuating people from these buildings. We will look at compliance in regards to the Fire Act in terms of safety. We are also looking at the structural integrity of these buildings.

“Some of these buildings or the area itself would have owed us millions of rand in electricity and water, so we start there. Some of these buildings will be expropriated based on what they owe the city especially if we know who the owners are,” he said.

He said they were working with the national government to assist with temporary accommodation.

“One of the other issues is the backlog in terms of housing and space but if you look at the housing and orders in our favour it’s just to provide temporary accommodation, it is still something that we are working on with the national government.

“Space is something that remains an issue for us in terms of backlog, I mean the housing backlog for the city alone is quite high.

“Some of these buildings we should be able to repurpose some and look at them as either social housing or student accommodation – some of these people that move into these unsafe buildings, we know they also pay rent [and the] people they are paying rent to are the wrong people and it might not be the owner.”

Chabalalaj@sowetan.co.za