Police and Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) officers were patrolling and monitoring blocks of Pharoe Park flats in Germiston on Wednesday.
This comes after protests on Tuesday during the eviction of residents who were allegedly occupying the block of flats illegally and not paying rent, rates and taxes. The municipality is owed millions in unpaid taxes and rates.
The City of Ekurhuleni's head of communication, Phakamile Mbenga, said on Tuesday the court order stated residents who illegally occupied the flats in the Germiston CBD must be evicted.
“The court order states the buildings are illegally occupied. Anyone in the building who's being evicted is occupying the flats illegally,” he said.
EMPD spokesperson Thabiso Makgato said the situation was calm at Pharoe Park on Wednesday after the protests the day before when the city conducted an operation to evict people who illegally occupied 422 units.
“During the operation, protesters torched the home affairs building but the operation continued,” she said.
“The situation is calm and people are waiting for transportation and looking after their belongings. EMPD specialised services and police are patrolling and monitoring the area around Pharoe Park.”
Deputy home affairs minister Njabulo Nzuza is expected to visit the Germiston office on Wednesday.
Preliminary reports suggest the office caught fire when protesters in the vicinity threw a petrol bomb into the office’s first floor, leading to disruption of operations.
The department has deployed mobile offices to continue rendering services to clients:
- Smart ID card and passport applications will be received at the Germiston Civic Centre car park.
- Reprints of certificates will be done at any home affairs office in Gauteng.
- Late registrations of birth will be handled at the Alberton and Boksburg offices.
- For other services, including marriages, clients are advised to visit other home affairs offices.
Ekurhuleni human settlements MMC Kgopelo Hollo told eNCA the city had offered evicted occupants several options.
The first option is to engage with those who are unemployed so they can visit their offices and apply for RDP houses.
“Secondly, we want to see the faces of people who are collecting rentals. We are only collecting about 13% of rentals in the complexes,” he said.
Out of the five complexes, which house about 1,500 people, they were only collecting 25%, he said. “These are the rental stock which was supposed to generate revenue for the city in terms of paying for services, water and electricity.”
The city has a high number of beneficiaries on the RDP waiting list, he said. About 360,000 people who are Sassa recipients are waiting for houses. “These are unemployed people who we were supposed to prioritise for housing opportunities.”
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.