Plan to use Expropriation Act to take buildings without paying in the Western Cape
The Department of Public Works wants to use the Expropriation Act to address and repurpose hijacked and abandoned buildings in the Western Cape, with 43 sites already identified as needing urgent attention.
Deputy Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala said both state-owned and private buildings in the province that have been left to decay are being misused, and the government now plans to take them back for proper use.
“When we undertook the visit to Cape Town in the Western Cape, where we went to Goodwood as well as Kraaifontein, we found buildings that belong to the state that are illegally occupied,” Zikalala said.
“You find that those who occupy the building are now renting them out, subdividing them so that they can rent them out to others, which is a very serious problem.”
He said some buildings were designed for important social projects but are now being used for profit or criminal activity.
According to Zikalala, many state properties were abandoned when government departments left without reporting the vacancies. “When those buildings become vacant, then people will occupy them illegally,” he explained.
To tackle this, the department launched “Operation Bring Back” to identify and recover properties across the country’s major metros.
“In the Western Cape alone, we have identified 43 properties which are on the list for Operation Bring Back, where we are already claiming and evicting those occupying them,” Zikalala said.
“We have targets in each and every province. We have a clear target of buildings that we want back.” He added that the campaign also includes land that was sold off improperly or illegally occupied.
Zikalala stressed that the government must still follow due process when evicting people. “If you evict a person, you are also required to provide an alternative shelter,” he said.
“We are working with the municipality on that so that they can provide an alternative for those people because it is their responsibility. But we have to ensure that these properties are brought back to the asset register and to full utilisation of the government.”
Not the only province
The Deputy Minister said hijacked buildings are a national problem, especially in Gauteng and the Western Cape, where they often become unsafe and overcrowded.
Zikalala said the government will not hesitate to use the Expropriation Act if private owners leave buildings neglected and unsafe.
“Even those that are under private ownership, if they are left unattended and get occupied by illegal occupants, we will then evict those people and expropriate that building so that they are rehabilitated for effective utilisation,” he said.
On the question of responsibility, Zikalala made it clear that the state is only liable for legally recognised tenants.
“If those people who enter or occupy a building on their own, they therefore take the risk,” he said.
“We take a risk where we allocate a building, and an occupant is known legally. That’s where the state takes a risk, but we don’t take a risk where we have no legal obligation.”
Other cities are also looking to use the Expropriation Act to deal with the problem. Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero said the city has just under 50 hijacked government buildings and more than 400 hijacked private ones.
“Just under 100, we can’t find the owners; they have abandoned the buildings. On those, we will do sale of execution and possible expropriation,” he said. These recovered properties will be used to help with the city’s housing backlog.
Under its Bad Buildings programme, the city of Tshwane has identified 32 derelict, hijacked, and abandoned sites.
Kholofelo Morodi, the MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, said a new Problem Building By-law is being drafted to replace the 2012 Derelict Buildings By-law.
This will give the city more power to force owners to act. “The new by-law will bring the owners’ urgent need to address their buildings to their attention and force them to act,” she said.
If owners ignore the warnings, the city will use the Expropriation Act to take the properties.
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