{"id":824354,"date":"2025-05-18T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=824354"},"modified":"2025-05-16T16:43:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T14:43:34","slug":"plan-to-use-expropriation-act-to-take-buildings-without-paying-in-south-africas-richest-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/824354\/plan-to-use-expropriation-act-to-take-buildings-without-paying-in-south-africas-richest-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan to use Expropriation Act to take buildings without paying in South Africa’s richest city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Johannesburg plans to use the Expropriation Act to repurpose hijacked and abandoned buildings within its centres, with just under 100 buildings already identified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero outlined this plan in an exclusive interview with the Mail & Guardian, where he stressed the need to address the problem of derelict and illegally occupied buildings in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue of hijacked, abandoned, and crumbling buildings is not a new problem for South Africa’s economic hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As early as 2016, Herman Mashaba, then mayor of Johannesburg, noted<\/a> that around 643 buildings were identified to have been hijacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, recent estimates now put that number at around 1,100 buildings, which are controlled by criminal syndicates who exploit vulnerable people, charging them rent for staying in unsafe and overcrowded conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the City of Johannesburg\u2019s Group Forensic and Investigation Services (GFIS), these illegally occupied or abandoned buildings contribute to urban decay, increased crime, and a loss of revenue for the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to the growing crisis, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and other city officials have undertaken operations to reclaim these properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the process is fraught with challenges, including legal battles, threats of violence from the hijackers, and the need to find alternative housing for displaced occupants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenges are evident, as President Cyril Ramaphosa slammed<\/a> the city’s state during his oversight mission in March, noting the painful sight of the deterioration in the city centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have many abandoned buildings. Buildings that have either been hijacked and are not paying rates and taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese abandoned buildings, where the owners have run away, should be subjected to the law we have just passed, expropriation, even without compensation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after Ramaphosa\u2019s remarks, public works deputy minister Sihle Zikalala agreed with him and said the buildings must be expropriated, even without compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose hijacked and abandoned buildings in Joburg can be used for public purposes, such as low-cost housing for South Africans, restoring dignity for our people through the Expropriation Act,\u201d said Zikalala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The buildings will be used for public good <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Following these calls from the deputy minister and the president, Morero said the city is considering expropriating the buildings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Expropriation Act was signed into law in January this year, outlining how the government can seize land and other property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are concerns over the Act\u2019s broader economic and political consequences, the new law introduced the ability to expropriate land in the public interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the section of the Act that the City of Johannesburg will use to remedy the state of the buildings it deems abandoned and derelict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Morero noted<\/a> that government-owned buildings will be the first to be addressed, he highlighted that expropriation must be extended to privately owned land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morero said just under 50 hijacked buildings belonged to the government, while more than 400 belonged to private owners who are now overseas or deceased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust under 100, we can\u2019t find the owners, they have abandoned the buildings. On those, we will do sale of execution and possible expropriation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the abandoned hijacked buildings will be used for the public good, focusing on addressing the City\u2019s housing backlog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThe City is facing a backlog of around 300,000 people waiting for homes, and we need to find innovative and efficient ways to address this urgent need for affordable housing for qualifying citizens,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morero dismissed concerns about the controversial nature of expropriation, emphasising that the process aligned with the Constitution\u2019s provisions for public good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the Expropriation Act, which is not controversial, it\u2019s the right thing to do. We all appreciate and acknowledge the indigenous people of this country,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe land was taken away from them, so there\u2019s nothing controversial; it is a redress of what has happened in the past,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the National government and the City do not just expropriate for the fun of expropriating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe expropriate because we now need to build a library there, we want to build a school, or we want to build a clinic,\u201d said Morero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to take buildings that have become a nuisance for society and turn them into housing opportunities or student accommodation. That is for the public good, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The City of Johannesburg plans to use the Expropriation Act to take over hundreds of buildings for public good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":787443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[2016,21717,20266,853],"class_list":["post-824354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-city-of-johannesburg","tag-expropriation-act","tag-president-cyril-ramaphosa","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824354"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":824381,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824354\/revisions\/824381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}