WORDS: STAFF REPORTER :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED
The recent deadly fire in Johannesburg highlights a long-standing issue of hijacked inner-city buildings and homelessness in the city
The fire in a hijacked Johannesburg building in Marshalltown last month, which claimed 77 lives, and the gas leaks causing a fire and explosion in the city’s CBD, hospitalising many, highlight concerns about poor urban management, weak by-law enforcement and inadequate governance in the city centre.
Paul Jackson, CEO of the Trust for Urban Housing Finance (TUHF), says: “Although the media coverage of these devastating events draws a much-needed spotlight to the challenges faced in the inner city of downtown Johannesburg, these occurrences are regrettably not isolated and a consequence of a much longer-standing issue. One that must be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
CEO of TUHF Paul Jackson
Call for action
Having been a stakeholder in the inner city for two decades, with more than R5bn invested in Johannesburg’s CBD, TUHF remains committed to ongoing discussions with local government concerning the persistent underlying issues that preceded the recent headline events.
“From the lack of service delivery, the increased scourge of hijacked buildings, damage to properties caused by the 2021 riots, xenophobic attacks and dangerously insufficient maintenance of infrastructure, we have relentlessly voiced our concerns and engaged with the local government to find solutions,” says Jackson. “There is an urgent need for improved management and intervention in the CBD to ensure the safety of the people who live here and the imperative growth of this vital economic hub, which is not achievable without local government action.”
For more than 20 years, TUHF has played a pivotal role as a prominent impact investor in SA’s inner cities, championing Johannesburg’s CBD as a prime investment destination, especially for everyday South Africans.
“Regeneration in the inner city has seen ordinary people, with street smart and knowledge, turn rundown buildings into successful, affordable rental housing businesses,” says Jackson. “TUHF has empowered aspiring property entrepreneurs to create safe homes and jobs within the inner city and to make an impact on communities that live, work and play here. We remain committed to the property investors we support and, as such, we must call for urgent change in the way the Johannesburg CBD is being managed.”
Collaborative effort is needed
CEO of TUHF21 Lusanda Netshitenzhe
TUHF is deeply concerned about the recent tragic events in Johannesburg’s CBD, which highlight systemic issues affecting capital markets, the insurance sector, rental housing providers and tenants.
The organisation blames the critical situation on poor execution by City management. Urgent improvements in urban management, compliance and administration are imperative to prevent future incidents.
“The wellbeing of the residents and businesses in the CBD should be a top priority for the City,” says CEO of TUHF21 Lusanda Netshitenzhe. “TUHF urges the City of Johannesburg to prioritise improved management and better governance of the inner city and to take concrete steps to address its deterioration. TUHF believes in investment in the inner cities as essential to inclusive and transformative economic growth.
“Inner cities have the potential to drive real growth at a local level and provide economic opportunities to SMMEs and low to moderate income households.” Given the threats to lives and livelihoods in the CBD, TUHF urges the leadership of the City of Johannesburg to promptly address urban management and investment infrastructure issues.
“We maintain that collaboration is essential to address the challenges that are apparent in Johannesburg,” says Netshitenzhe. “A coordinated and comprehensive approach is needed to restore confidence in the CBD for all the City’s stakeholders. This reality cannot be ignored any longer, and TUHF joins all invested stakeholders of the inner city in calling for urgent action and changes to the way the City is managed.
“We are committed to collaborating with the City and other stakeholders to find sustainable solutions to the issues facing the CBD and believe that a united effort is essential to create a more prosperous City.”
Response from SA’s Leaders
Gauteng’s premier Pnyaza Lesufi recently established a commission of enquiry, chaired by retired judge Justice Sisi Khampepe, to probe the reason for the fire and investigate the city’s hijacked buildings.
“The commission will investigate the prevalence of hijacked buildings in Johannesburg, what caused the deadly blaze in Marshalltown, and who must shoulder total responsibility for this tragedy,” he said.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, as reported by Netwerk24, said the blame for the fire cannot solely be placed on the government; the entire community shares responsibility. He emphasised that the community should report criminal activity, with the authorities responsible for responding to these reports. He acknowledged the city’s efforts to remove illegal occupants from buildings, though progress is gradual.
Johannesburg’s housing realities
One of the primary challenges for Johannesburg’s underprivileged is the severe housing shortage, exacerbated by rapid population growth. The City of Johannesburg currently grapples with a backlog of 500,000 housing units, with at least 100,000 people estimated as homeless according to the last count conducted five years ago.
Although the City says at least 200 families (more than 400 people) have been affected by the fire, some residents of the Marshalltown building says more than 1,000 were left homeless.
A community of more than 200 local and foreign national wastepickers live in the Express building in Nugget Street. Fifty families live in a ruined building on the corner of Alexander and Market streets in Johannesburg’s inner-city.
Thousands of Johannesburg inner-city residents occupy buildings in conditions like those that led to the fire that killed 77 people. They live in derelict multistorey buildings, former office blocks, sectional title buildings, tenements, empty warehouses and factories.
Sources: Daily Maverick and News24
