Joburg’s inner city slum is out of control

Johannesburg’s inner city has been in the international news recently for all the wrong reasons. A freakish underground methane gas blast on Lilian Ngoyi Street in the city centre in July made international news, as did the fire at the five-storey Usindiso building in Marshalltown that killed 77 people in August.

We know this because a list of the city’s most dangerous buildings has been supplied to the City of Joburg by Vermaak Marshal Wellbeloved Inc, a firm of attorneys primarily concerned with restoring properties to their rightful owners – mostly buildings that have been either hijacked or subject to rent boycotts.

One of the occupants, Sipho Dlamini, says City Power came last week to remove the transformer that supplied electricity to the building. In cases such as this, the occupants cannot be regarded as squatters. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW They have no idea who owns the building and are paying rent to whoever represents themselves as the building owner or manager.

The picture below shows a building in Davies Street in Doornfontein that used to be an office block but has since been turned into rental accommodation.

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