About 300 illegal structures were demolished in Thembisa on Tuesday during a joint operation led by the Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) and the city’s human settlements department.
The operation took place on Portion 64 of Witfontein Farm, near the Thembisa Licensing Station.
According to Thabiso Makgato, EMPD spokesperson, the demolitions were carried out in line with a 2022 Johannesburg high court order directing applicants to remove structures or shacks erected on the land.
Makgato said the court order authorised the EMPD to remove the structures should the applicants fail to comply within the stipulated time frame.
The EMPD said the area would continue to be monitored to prevent further land invasions and the rebuilding of structures.
Illegal land occupations remain a growing challenge in parts of Gauteng, where rapid urbanisation, housing shortages and unemployment continue to push many people to occupy vacant land in search of shelter.
On Monday and Tuesday, the City of Johannesburg carried out demolitions of illegal structures in parts of the Johannesburg CBD, including Small Street, Pritchard Street and Rahima Moosa Street, during a by-law enforcement operation led by Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
Authorities said the structures posed safety risks and had become hotspots for crime and overcrowding.
Morero said the city would continue with operations aimed at restoring law and order in the inner city.
TimesLIVE
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