Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has been presented with\u00a0a plan to clear the city’s CBD buildings of unauthorised occupants, using a \u201cshock and awe\u201d campaign similar to that used by the United States in the Iraq war.<\/p>\n
The plan would be to return hijacked buildings to their owners or have them forfeited to the state was discussed on 6 February at the municipality-convened Inner City Partnership Forum, according to\u00a0a presentation by the\u00a0city\u2019s Regulatory, Compliance and Special Investigations unit seen by Bloomberg<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n In this plan, Johannesburg\u2019s forensic unit \u201cwill adopt the \u2018shock and awe\u2019 doctrine\u201d based \u201con the use of overwhelming power and spectacular display of force to paralyze the enemy\u2019s perception of the battlefield and destroy its will to fight,\u201d it said, adding that the strategy was used by U.S. forces in Iraq.<\/p>\n When asked about the plan, Mashaba stressed that it was simply a proposal, and that no move to adopt it had been taken.<\/p>\n “It would be premature to have a public discussion around this particular matter because the team only presented to us a concept which is it at such a very early stage,” he told Bloomberg.<\/p>\n Mashaba recently found himself in hot water with the DA after he referred to undocumented immigrants as criminals in comments that sparked criticism from civil rights groups and government.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem of undocumented immigrants is not a national issue; it\u2019s something that impacts directly on the city of Johannesburg\u2019s ability to deliver to our people,\u201d Mashaba said in a 15 February interview.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is why, with immigration not being our competency, we engage the national government to do something about it because, how can anyone expect us to deliver to the residents of Johannesburg when we have so many undocumented immigrants.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
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