Johannesburg — President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the Expropriation Act should be used to restore and reclaim as many buildings as possilbe in the Johannesburg CBD.
Ramaphosa was speaking to the Johannesburg City Council during his oversight visit to the province when he made his remarks and claimed that the buildings could be used to house people or attract investment in the city.
“This city is crying out for rejuvenation. It is a painful sight to go through the city and see what it has deteriorated to. But it is possible and doable,” said Ramaphosa.
“Today, you have a number of abandoned buildings. Buildings that have been hijacked or not paying rates and taxes. Those buildings can become investment vehicles where we can accommodate our people who can live lives of dignity. We can turn around those abandoned buildings,” he added.
“Where the owners have run away, they should be subjected to the law we’ve just passed, the expropriation even without compensation, they must be turned into living accommodation and it falls very wonderfully in the interpretation of our Constitution and the law itself and it would be for purpose, useful purpose for our people,” he concluded.
WATCH BELOW:
President #CyrilRamaphosa says abandoned buildings in the City of Johannesburg where the owners have run away should be subjected to the #expropriationact.
He says the buildings should be refurbished into living accommodation. KH#KayaNews pic.twitter.com/scRoDfZfZi
— Kaya News (@KayaNews) March 7, 2025
According to The Citizen, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that reclaiming the abandoned buildings was a challenge due to the legal processes involved and said that for the ones that have been hijacked, those living there cannot just be evicted.
“The national government is not even aware that they own some of those buildings because the recording system is in bad shape. It’s not only them, some buildings were left by business people. When you call them and say you own this building, they say ‘Oh, I still have that building?” he said.
“There is a law that says if you evict someone that has hijacked a building and you want to win over that building, you must find alternative accommodation for them and give them water – we can’t do that alone.”
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
