The City of Joburg is set to cut the lights at several hijacked buildings in the inner city on Wednesday as public officials continue to take a tough stance in the aftermath of the deadly fire that claimed over 75 lives at the Usindiso Building in Marshalltown recently.
Angela Rivers, the chairperson of the Joburg Property Owners and Managers Association, has said that there were at least 57 hijacked buildings in the Joburg Inner City. Most of the hijacked buildings, it was alleged, were State-owned.
The City-owned Usindiso building had been hijacked from the Gauteng Department of Social Development since about 2019. The city was criticised for allowing the building, which was in a poor state, to remain hijacked and for so long until at least 77 died in the tragedy.
The department had leased the building from the city and was using it as a shelter for abused women and children.
By the time of the deadly fire at the end of August, the building was home to at least 200 families, including former abused women and children, along with many who were undocumented immigrants.
Some who stayed at the building said they paid R10,000 once off for a room, while others said they were renting for about R1,500 monthly.
Last week, at least 20 people were arrested for theft and vandalism during a sting operation led by Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda in the inner city. The building was purchased for R40 million for the Joburg Metro Police (JMPD) who were due to use it as a pound before it was allegedly hijacked. During the operation, officials found people on site claiming to be contractors for the owners.
Councillor Jack Sekwaila, who is a member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for Environment and Infrastructure Services, is expected to lead the City Power Revenue Protection team to disconnect electricity to several hijacked buildings in the Joburg CBD on Wednesday.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said: "The buildings are believed to be occupied by suspected illegal and extremely violent occupants. City Power is ramping up revenue collection efforts, and as a result, the actions of those who hijack buildings are not different from those of the illegal connectors who put pressure on our electricity network and further hinder revenue recovery efforts.
"Illegal connection of electricity is theft and should be treated as such by conducting this operation, which will be supported by the law enforcement agency," said Mangena.
More than 200 families were displaced when the Usindiso Building in Marshalltown caught fire, leaving over 75 people dead.
The cause of the fire is still unknown at this stage. Some of the residents have been moved to shelters in Hillbrow, Jeppestown, and Bezuidenhout Valley, while some of the occupants refused to be moved to shelters, fearing they would be in trouble with authorities due to their status in the country.
IOL