JOHANNESBURG - Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has set up a sub-mayoral committee tasked to deal with the state of buildings in the inner-city.
A number of buildings in the Johannesburg CBD have been hijacked, with many of them not fit for occupation.
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"I have set up a sub-mayoral committee that is focused in the inner city," Gwamanda said.
"The re-establishment and repurposing these buildings, and a humanitarian approach to how we treat the citizens of Johannesburg.
"It's not only those that find themselves in dilapidated buildings but those that are on the streets as well, of which we have shelters that they are unwilling to occupy at this point.
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"The element how we enforce our by-laws is an issue that the MMC of public safety is very passionate about. I need to remind him of our competency as local government so we do not find ourselves in a situation where we are contravening certain laws in use trying to deliver," he said.
"This is not just our problem as government. It’s a collective problem because the people that are occupying these buildings are our citizens."