Hundreds of residents, mainly foreigners, are being exploited by property owners and landlords to live in conditions that are not compliant with the city’s by-laws – and the owners are reaping the benefits.
To prioritise the issue of problem buildings in the city, the municipality held a city-wide law enforcement operation on Wednesday.
Derelict buildings housing illegal immigrants on Umgeni Road, Carlisle Street, Denis Hurley Street, Anton Lembede Street, Monty Naicker Street and Johannes Nkosi (Alice Street) were focus areas.
The operation was run by Safer Cities, iTrump (Inner Thekweni Regeneration and Urban Management Programme), the metro police, the SAPS, Home Affairs and other law enforcement agencies.
Twenty-seven illegal immigrants were arrested at 10 locations within the Central Business District and surrounding areas. They will be deported.
The police made one drug arrest for possession of marijuana and issued contravention notices to the owners.
At 527 Anton Lembede Street, the police arrested many immigrants who were not able to produce their immigration passes. Many of them resisted police arrest.
One woman, who was the supervisor of a nearby salon, tried to fight the police and was in tears before being put in the police van. She refused to provide her documentation or that of the business.
At 152 Bertha Mkhize (Victoria) Street, the arrested men’s partners came outside, screaming in Zulu: “Where am I going to get my bonus if you take my boyfriend? Who am I going to sleep with if you take my boyfriend?”
One Dennis Hurley (Queen) Street resident, who did not want to be named, said they paid R1 800 rent for three people.
The rooms were made of soft cardboard and were barely big enough for a double bed and furniture.
“It is tough to live in these conditions, but what can we do? It is all we can afford.”
In Bertha Mkhize Street, residents paid R350 each for accommodation. There were leaks all over and poor lavatory facilities. Many residents came from the Eastern Cape.
In Carlisle Street, the police went into a house where about 20 men slept in a 4m by 3m room with each wall having four bunks made of metal shelving.
Some men were playing pool, while some watched television. They were not fazed by the police presence – as if they had seen it before.
In most buildings, clothes were left to dry indoors, which caused a damp smell.
Children sat on cold stairs with no adult supervision.
Some people were cooking food on gas stoves in their small rooms. Some of them refused to speak and turned away. Others danced to gospel music in full view of the officers.
Many of the women en route from the bathroom had to face the officers wearing nothing but a towel.
The operation is just one of many that the municipality has undertaken.
iTrump senior manager Hoosen Moolla said these operations had sent a strong message to property owners about how serious the city was about this problem.
“We are not concerned with the money they are making, only their non-compliance. Not only are there people living in unhygienic circumstances, but it has a direct impact on the safety of the city.
“Businesses in the city centre end up migrating and it plays a critical role in tourism,” he said.
Moolla said their main aim was to rehabilitate problem buildings.
They were looking at changing the rates codes on building licences to ensure compliance takes place.
He said profiling of the buildings and a cordon and search application to enter the building was made by the police before an operation was conducted.
Attempts to contact some of the owners and landlords were unsuccessful.
Sunday Tribune