City responds to concerns about Cyrildene

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) is not afraid of Chinese residents in Cyrildene and is taking action against those who are contravening the bylaws.

Mr Bongani Nhleko, the spokesperson for Clr Roslynn Greeff who is the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for development planning and urban management, was responding to corruption allegations made against officials.

Community members who attended a public meeting recently expressed their anger at council for not clamping down on people who were contravening the bylaws. They accused officials, including the MMC, of either being corrupt, not having the capacity or will to address problems or being too afraid to take action.

They also lashed out at Clr Alison van der Molen for her apparent lack of feedback and commitment to do her job.

Clr Van der Molen told residents it was difficult to give residents feedback on their complaints if she does not get a response from officials.

She also said she cannot instruct officials to do their job and nothing will change because there are corrupt and useless officials.

Although having no comment about corruption allegations, Mr Nhleko said the 26 properties inspected, court orders granted on five matters and one letter of demand served, shows the department is not afraid of the Chinese.

He highlighted a number of strategies the city is hoping to implement soon.

Council is on the verge of establishing a new prosecution process to address building contraventions.

He said discussions to revisit the fines schedule for building contraventions are underway with the Chief Magistrate of Johannesburg.

The new prosecution process will see offenders paying fines and appearing in court.

“Building inspectorate staff, as well as other law enforcement entities, will undergo rigorous training for the new process. A key factor in this new process is the inclusion of Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers. They will accompany the building inspector to sites where developers blatantly ignore the notice to stop any illegal activity. We are working on establishing a legal framework, where possible arrests or confiscation of equipment can occur. Although there has been a delay from the part of the JMPD, due to restructuring, we are hopeful this new process through the Magistrate’s Court will be finalised before the end of April,” said Mr Nhleko.

He said the city’s records indicate there was an increase in building plans submitted for approval.

The city hopes this will increase further with the introduction of the precinct plan and improved law enforcement.

“Cyrildene was identified as a hotspot area which requires special interventions. This intervention starts with the formulation of a precinct plan to address the socio-economic needs of that community. While every effort is being made by various departments and regulatory authorities, the impact is being stifled by the lack of co-ordination of these efforts,” said Mr Nhleko.

The department is concluding the urban development framework to outline the development trajectory of Cyrildene, including a solution to the accommodation challenges in the area. “The framework will attract investment in the area and encourages the whole redevelopment of the area,” said Mr Nhleko.

Speaking about current interventions, Mr Nhleko said the building inspectorate for the area conducts regular visits and investigations. “There is a two-pronged approach to dealing with contraventions in the area. The first is to continue with legal action on sites where contraventions remain, or illegal activity continues unabated. Such legal action is at different stages of prosecution, however, in some instances where the matter is opposed in the high court, there could be up to a two year delay in concluding the matter. Secondly, the building inspector for the area continues with inspections on sites where building plans have been approved and also issues contravention notices for sites where contraventions are discovered. In both scenarios, we have improved the pace of reaction and are maintaining vigilance of building activities in the area,” he said.

According to him, the department is experiencing challenges with some property owners. “We could not proceed with some matters to court as our inspectors were denied access to 20 properties. Without factual, visible evidence, the case cannot be referred to court. Our attorneys and the JMPD have been negotiating other ways of gaining entry into properties,” he said.

During the public meeting, residents said they informed council about illegal activities as soon as these activities started in the hopes that they would be attended to immediately. This would have prevented lengthy council and legal procedures. Residents said despite reporting these problems, action was not taken immediately.

“Council starts ‘taking action’ only when work on the illegal buildings is almost done or complete. Then some of these people try to get building plans, which do not even reflect what is on the property, approved. Plans are approved despite residents’ objections. Council deliberately wastes time and plans are approved either because they are afraid of the Chinese or because of corruption. There is no proof given to us to state otherwise. Is this council’s way of allowing the Chinese to do as they please?” asked a resident, who did not want her name published.

Mr Nhleko said the city’s litigation process takes time. “People take advantage of that, or delay the matters deliberately, at the courts. In Cyrildene a lot of properties were inspected, illegal land uses identified and investigated as part of the Cyrildene Development Framework and complaints received. Properties with illegal land uses were issued with notices and some have already been to court. Court orders were obtained in some instances. The department is not afraid of anybody and every property will be investigated and prosecuted if and when there is a need to. The department continues to attend to all complaints received in the area and will take appropriate actions if necessary,” he said.

Speaking about residents losing faith in council, Mr Nhleko said, “This is not good for the city, hence we try by all means to attend to all illegal land uses promptly.”

“The city’s wish is for all its citizens to live in peace and harmony with their human rights being protected and respected. It is ideal to retain all the people in the area. Given our success rate versus matters reported and investigated, one can say that the council is really trying its best. It is just that we do not have the capacity to attend to all complaints reported,” he said.