Undocumented foreign nationals and unscrupulous individuals are running amok in the country’s big cities.
They are targeting abandoned buildings in the country’s key metros. Making matters worse is that the municipalities were hamstrung to act, fearing litigation.
These revelations emerged during the sitting of the 4th national municipal legal practitioners forum held in Durban.
4th National municipal legal practitioners forum
The South African Local Government Association (Salga) was part of the forum. Salga’s chief of operations, Lance Joel spoke to Sunday World on the sidelines of the gathering.
He bemoaned that three metros — eThekwini, the city of Johannesburg, and Tshwane —were under siege from rogue elements.
“We had the benefit of listening to the cities of Johannesburg, eThekwini, and Tshwane. Included were representation from the South African Police Service [SAPS]. We spoke on this topic of hijacked buildings.
“One thing that became very clear is that we all think that it is simple. Such as walking into a building and taking people out. There are laborious court processes that should be followed,” said Lance.
Becoming a national crisis
He also stated that the hijacking of property was a serious national crisis that posed a national security threat.
“The process is costly for municipalities. Once municipalities have evicted people, they have an obligation to find alternative accommodation. The buildings are also not owned by municipalities; they are privately owned.
“It also needs various stakeholders, such as the Department of Home Affairs. Because there are [undocumented foreign nationals] involved,” he said.
The two-day event brought together municipal managers, accounting and finance officials, and municipal legal advisors. The forum, which concluded on Friday, was organised by Salga.
Intricate legal processes involved
The aim of the gathering was to provide updates on key emerging legal matters affecting local government. To also draw on the collective experiences and lessons learned by various municipalities. These are lessons in dealing with intricate legal cases.
“If you look into the municipal environment, you won’t find a uniformed kind of problem. These legal practitioners stationed in municipalities might not be able to deal with each and every problem. And this is because problems that emanate from municipalities are occurring in an environment that is very complex.
Ongoing litigations
“At times, it’s good that they prepare for certain cases that they will escalate. The reason why we have such a forum is for them to also understand that they must also utilise the association. They must do so to complement the capacity that they have,” explained Samkelo Janda. He is Salga’s national chairperson of the governance and international relations working group.
The forum also touched on complex legal challenges and ongoing litigations. These are faced by various municipalities and local government sectors in the country. Salga believes that this will enable municipalities to provide technical input. This will help their policy positions and legal strategies.
