The building meant to house the more than 200 displaced residents of a Jeppestown building, which was damaged in a blaze that killed four people last month, has been vandalised.
This has been confirmed by member of the mayoral committee for human settlements in the City of Johannesburg Mlungisi Mabaso.
Mabaso has expressed his outrage about the vandalism at the Phumlani building, which the city had earmarked to house the survivors of a recent fire in Jeppestown.
In a statement on Thursday, after his visit to Phumlani Court, MMC Mabaso said he was shocked by the state of the building.
“I was concerned about the delay in moving people to the building, but I was informed that it had been vandalised. Some units had also been invaded. I couldn’t fully comprehend the situation.
“We have a security company protecting the building 24 hours a day, with access control in place. But when I arrived, the reality was worse than reported. Fewer than 30 units were vacant, and all were heavily vandalised. It looked like a construction site.
“Water pumps have been stolen, with each pump costing the city R100 000. Four have been removed. I have engaged with the executive director of the department and the security provider to initiate legal action, holding them accountable for the losses incurred by the city.
“We must also begin the process of evicting those who have illegally occupied the units. Reports suggest that current tenants invited others to move in, and some security personnel are implicated.
“It’s unacceptable for the city to lose valuable property like this when we pay security personnel to protect them. If we don’t change how we address these issues, we risk losing more properties. The security companies guarding our assets must be held accountable for these failures as they are paid consistently,” he said.
He added that the city would assess the damage and undertake necessary refurbishments to ready it for occupancy.
“We hope the legal process for evicting the illegal occupants proceeds smoothly. We also need to uncover who allowed these people into the units and who is collecting rent from them in a government-owned property. We must make an example of these criminals, to show that we are serious about dealing with syndicates that take over our buildings,” he added.
IOL reported that the fire, which broke out in the three-storey building at around 8am on August 25, was caused by illegal electricity connections for the informal settlement that had been erected in the building. Four people lost their lives.
Those who survived the deadly blaze were subsequently temporarily housed in tents on a soccer field while the city had sought suitable accommodation.
The Star
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za