The View Point

The fire that sparked out of building in Marshall town has sparked a lot of controversies. Two weeks ago, the City of Johannesburg's probe into the hijacked buildings within CBD led investigators to rogue lawyers who are alleged to have gone into the deeds office to irregularly change the owner's details.

Guest:Greg Vermaark, Eviction specialist Attorney at VMB

Guest: Magashule Ghana, Leader of RISE Mzansi

Guest:Tshepo Mojapelo, Attorney and Director at Mojapelo Attorneys

Guest: Nikki Munitz, Author and Wellness Counsellor at Sandhurst

Guest: Prof André Wessels

Guest: Dr Criselda Kananda - Acting Deputy Chair of the SAWID Trust

Guest: Bandile Mgibili - Poet, Author, Graphic Designer, Mentor 

Guest: Nthabiseng Dubazana - Attorney at Dubazana Attorneys 

According to a report in the Sunday Times, the city has identified 188 hijacked buildings in the city center. The Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association has compiled a list of 57 properties that have been hijacked, where residents are charged between R600 and R1,200 a week by their “landlords”.
While the city and private property owners often want to send in authorities to raid buildings and evict people living there illegally, legal precedent states that they must provide adequate alternative accommodation to residents who would be rendered homeless by eviction.

However, there is a lack of low-cost housing in Johannesburg and the municipality is often unable to provide adequate alternative accommodation, which has led to city officials criticising the NGOs that defend tenants’ rights.

City of Johannesburg manager Floyd Brink told the Sunday Times that the municipality would go to court to test the law on alternative accommodation, claiming that it was required to house evicted persons within 5-10km of the site they had been evicted from.
“In a built-up area like this, where do you start?” Brink told the publication.

“We have tried several options to solve the problem of the hijacked buildings, but we always get stuck in legislation.
“We are considering our options and it looks like we will be approaching the courts in the coming week on an urgent basis so we can get clarity on what we can and cannot do about these hijacked buildings.

“People must understand the context. We have seen statistics that an average of more than 3,000 people relocate to Joburg’s inner city from other parts of the country and continent per month. I can tell you that we suspect that number to be lower than what we see in reality.”

In 2020, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (Seri), one of the organisations often criticized by city officials, released a policy brief suggesting municipalities be both “predictive of potential homelessness and responsive to eviction orders that lead to homelessness.

“As it stands, alternative accommodation in Johannesburg is supplied haphazardly in relation to evictions in the inner city and in informal settlements, indicating an absence to plan. In both situations, residents are generally relocated into buildings or shacks that are poorly structured,” Seri said.

Addressing the media at the site of the fire on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the incident needed to be investigated and lessons had to be learnt so that such tragedies could be prevented.
“It’s a wake-up call for us to begin to address the situation of housing in the inner city,” he said.

Guest: Simphiwe Dlamini - International Secretary Communist Party of Swaziland

Eswatini's legislative elections on Friday are not anticipated to alter the political climate of the nation. As the last absolute monarchy in Africa, parliament merely serves as an advisory body, and anyone who defies the king does so at their own risk. 

Eswatini political reform opponents and traditional elders are said to have harassed and intimidated activists running in parliamentary elections with the goal of pushing for democratic reforms from within the legislature.

Some activists have chosen to run in this year's parliamentary elections with the hope of influencing democratic reforms from within the Eswatini legislature, which has for years been predominated by traditionalists and pro-monarchy politicians. This decision was made in response to the violent pro-democracy protests against the monarchy in June 2021, which resulted in the deaths of over 50 people.

Guest:  Dr. Hekeen Hanekom - Member of the Breast Imaging Society of SA

Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer amongst women in South Africa affecting 1 in 27 women and 23% of all cancers diagnosed. 

This October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Breast Imaging Society of South Africa (BISSA) is emphasising the importance of early detection through regular self-examinations, even as early as one's 20s, and annual mammograms starting from the age of 40.