The devastating fire that claimed 74 lives, including 12 children, in a five-story building in Johannesburg’s inner city has thrust the issue of “hijacked buildings” into the national spotlight. President Cyril Ramaphosa described the incident as a “wake-up call” for South Africa to address its chronic housing crisis. These hijacked buildings are often old blocks that have been abandoned by their owners or the city authorities and are now occupied by families paying rent to criminal gangs. Lack of basic amenities like running water, toilets, and legal electricity make these living conditions dire, yet they remain the only option for some of South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens, including undocumented migrants from other African countries. The Johannesburg city manager confirmed that 200 families were affected by this tragedy, underlining the urgency of finding solutions to the housing and accommodation problems in the city.
Quick Key Points Highlights:
- Deadly Fire as a Wake-Up Call: The tragic fire in a five-story building claimed 74 lives, including 12 children, and injured over 50 others. President Ramaphosa called it a “wake-up call” to address housing issues.
- City Ownership and Cartel Control: The building was owned by the city of Johannesburg but had been taken over by cartels. These criminal elements often claim buildings, leading to situations where families are living in hazardous conditions.
- Housing Crisis: With at least 1.2 million people in the province being homeless and an estimated 15,000 people homeless in Johannesburg alone, the housing issue in South Africa has reached crisis proportions.
- Chronic Lack of Amenities: Hijacked buildings are often without basic amenities like water, electricity, and toilets, making them fire hazards and uninhabitable spaces.
- Migrant and Undocumented Occupants: Many of the residents in these buildings are undocumented migrants from other African countries, complicating the issue further.
- Immediate Response Needed: Emergency services arrived at the scene within 10 minutes after the fire was reported, but the situation calls for long-term solutions to prevent such tragedies in the future.
- Focus on Inner City Housing: The South African leader emphasized the need for focusing on the inner-city housing issue, where many buildings are not fit for habitation but are still occupied.
The scale and gravity of the recent fire, which left more than 50 people injured in addition to the fatalities, underscore the perils of neglecting the issue of hijacked buildings. South Africa is facing a severe housing crisis, evident from the rising numbers of homeless individuals, with at least 1.2 million in the province and around 15,000 in Johannesburg alone. President Ramaphosa’s statement sheds light on the urgency for systematic intervention. While emergency services have been commended for their quick response, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive plan that addresses the legal, humanitarian, and infrastructural aspects of this ongoing crisis. The incident serves not only as a mournful lesson but also as an urgent call to action to improve housing conditions and to ensure the safety of some of South Africa’s most marginalized populations.
15 Recent Facts About Hijacked Buildings in Johannesburg
Fact 1: The Scale of the Housing Problem
The housing issue in Johannesburg is massive. As reported by a provincial official, at least 1.2 million people in the province are homeless. Angela Rivers, the general manager at Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association, revealed that she is aware of 57 known hijacked buildings in the Central Business District alone. Most of these buildings are owned by the city or the provincial government. The crisis is not just about the scale but also about how it’s impacting the most vulnerable sections of the population, who are often left with no option but to live in such hijacked buildings.
Fact 2: Syndicates with Fraudulent Title Deeds
In certain cases, criminal syndicates have managed to occupy buildings using fraudulent title deeds. Angela Rivers noted that these criminals have convinced the residents that they are the actual owners of the buildings. People living in these buildings are often faced with a dilemma: either pay rent to these criminals or risk being pushed out. The use of fraudulent title deeds highlights a severe breakdown in property governance, complicating the efforts to deal with this crisis.
Fact 3: Poorly Managed Buildings are Targets
Experts point out that poorly managed buildings are particularly susceptible to being hijacked. Such buildings often have limited access to basic amenities like running water and electricity. This lack of basic services often makes them unappealing to potential legitimate tenants but attractive targets for hijackers. The situation is exacerbated by ineffective oversight by the city and provincial governments, which often own these buildings.
Fact 4: Occupants’ Financial Vulnerabilities
Many of the people occupying these dilapidated buildings earn less than 3,500 rand ($190) per month, according to Edward Molopi from the Socio-Economic Rights Institute. Over half of the residents in the inner city belong to this low-income group. These individuals look for housing closer to work opportunities, a necessity that often leads them to hijacked buildings. The residents’ financial vulnerability makes them prime targets for exploitation by criminal elements.
Fact 5: Lack of Documentation for Formal Housing
A significant number of the occupants in these hijacked buildings lack proper documentation. This means that they are not only working informal jobs but also lack any means of acquiring official identification papers. The absence of identification often leaves them in a precarious situation where they can neither access formal housing nor protect themselves from exploitation by the criminal cartels that run these buildings.
Fact 6: Inaction from Authorities
Lebogang Isaac Maile, the head of the Human Settlements department for Gauteng province, mentioned that 23 hijacked buildings had been identified in Johannesburg as in need of development. About 100 buildings appear to have no owners. However, the government’s plans to deal with this issue have not been elaborated upon, leaving the residents of these buildings in a state of uncertainty and vulnerability.
Fact 7: The Rise of Criminal Cartels
According to Lebogang Isaac Maile, cartels are exploiting vulnerable people by collecting rent from them in hijacked buildings. The emergence of these criminal elements further complicates the housing issue. Not only do these cartels drive up the numbers of hijacked buildings, but they also create an environment of fear and exploitation among the occupants.
Fact 8: Dangerous Living Conditions
The buildings lack basic amenities such as running water and legal electricity connections. This has led to the dangerous practice of people living in makeshift, shack-like structures within these buildings. A firefighter on the scene of a recent five-storey building fire reported that these conditions made the situation “more combustible.”
Fact 9: Fire Hazards
Due to the lack of amenities, people resort to dangerous alternatives like cooking on paraffin stoves and lighting fires in large metal drums during winter months. The numerous illegal electricity connections also pose a fire hazard. Fires are common in these buildings, but nothing has been on the scale of a recent fire that erupted overnight in a five-storey building.
Fact 10: Frequent Power Cuts
The lack of a legal electricity connection means that these buildings are prone to frequent power cuts. One resident who escaped a recent fire said that the incident started during a power cut, which triggered a series of gunshot-like sounds followed by a massive explosion. This further increases the risks associated with living in such conditions.
Fact 11: Occupants Shun Authorities
The illegal nature of these occupations means that residents tend to avoid contact with authorities and media. This makes it difficult to accurately assess the scale of the problem and complicates any efforts to provide aid or find solutions.
Fact 12: High Levels of Crime in CBD
The Central Business District (CBD) of Johannesburg, where many of these hijacked buildings are located, has a reputation for high levels of crime. Many businesses have fled the area, especially since the end of apartheid in 1994, further contributing to the decay and hijacking of buildings.
Fact 13: Impact of Apartheid
The end of apartheid allowed those who had been pushed to the fringes of cities to move in. The influx of people looking for affordable housing has contributed to the hijacking issue. With businesses and wealthier residents moving to more affluent northern suburbs, old commercial buildings have been turned into low-rent apartments, often hijacked by criminals.
Facts 14: Residents are a Mix of Locals and Migrants
The people living in these hijacked buildings form a diverse demographic, consisting of poor South Africans as well as migrants from across Africa. Some of these migrants are undocumented and stay in the country illegally. The living conditions within these buildings are often horrendous, with smells of feces pervading the hallways because occupants are sometimes forced to relieve themselves in the building’s empty spaces or on the pavement. The lack of basic sanitary conditions affects everyone, irrespective of their origin, creating a collective struggle for dignity and humane living conditions.
Fact 15: Long-Term Neglect of Central Business District
The Central Business District (CBD) has suffered from long-term neglect, especially since the end of apartheid. This neglect has led to businesses moving to more affluent areas, leaving behind old commercial buildings that are often turned into low-rent apartments and are prone to being hijacked. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange and other businesses moved to the northern suburbs, exacerbating the decline of the CBD and making it a hotspot for hijacked buildings.
VIDEO | Former Johannesburg mayor and leader of ActionSA Herman Mashaba says the fire that killed 73 people in the Johannesburg CBD could have been avoided had city officials taken the issue of abandoned buildings seriously. #jhbfirehttps://t.co/xC6kPECRFO pic.twitter.com/iTc49NL36m
— SABC News (@SABCNews) August 31, 2023
In conclusion, the issue of hijacked buildings in Johannesburg is a complex problem that intertwines with a host of other societal issues like poverty, lack of proper documentation, and the legacy of apartheid. While it is a symptom of broader socio-economic challenges, it is also a crisis that needs immediate attention to prevent further deterioration of living conditions for Johannesburg’s most vulnerable residents.