Johannesburg disaster launches hunt for hijacked buildings

Johannesburg – The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) is launching an operation to reclaim over 1, 000 illegally occupied state buildings.

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Following the horrific killing of 77 people in the Marshalltown building last Thursday, the property was confirmed to have been unlawfully inhabited and belonging to the state.

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According to a statement from DPWI, the Marshalltown is one of 1,260 buildings that have been hijacked from the state around South Africa.

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“Out of 29 000 buildings in the department’s asset register throughout the country, the department has embarked on a process to recover some 1 260 properties that have been flagged as being illegally occupied under Operation Bring Back Program,” the department said.

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METROS AND MUNICIPALITIES TO ACCOUNT

“Each metro or municipality will have to indicate how many properties it has on its asset register, the state of those assets, what they are used for and its current status,” DPWI said.

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“Depending on the status of those properties, the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure will recommend what should be done [with them],” the note added.

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You can find more articles from Siseko Gwegwe here.