ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba believes reclaiming hijacked and abandoned buildings and handing them to the private sector would create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
eThekwini Municipality and other municipalities across the country are clamping down on bad buildings following a devastating fire in Marshalltown, Johannesburg in August that killed more than 70 people and 88 injured and laid bare the problems of hijacked or dilapidated buildings in cities.
A witness at the commission of inquiry into the Usindiso building fire in Marshalltown, admitted to starting the deadly blaze and was subsequently arrested.
“The importance of this project must be understood against the economic and housing crises facing South Africans.
“In a country where economic growth is at a dismal 0.6% and unemployment remains stagnant above 40%, creating real job opportunities is critical to creating an inclusive and prosperous society. Reclaiming hijacked and abandoned buildings and handing them to the private sector enable this, thereby improving the lives of our people,” Mashaba said.
He said that 30 years after democracy, the governing party’s RDP housing programme had failed to address the growing housing backlog in the country.
“It is estimated that the housing backlog in the City of Johannesburg currently stands at 500,000. Against this backdrop the city is only constructing approximately 2,000 RDP houses a year.
“This model has failed South Africans and further exasperated Apartheid Spatial Planning.”
He said ActionSA’s plan will start to address this backlog by developing higher density housing opportunities in well-located areas close to economic opportunities, “thereby undoing the legacy of Apartheid Spatial Planning”.
Mashaba said addressing the scourge of hijacked buildings is central to this approach. “During my time as mayor, we identified 643 hijacked and adopted a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to rehabilitating them.”
The Mercury