- The City of Johannesburg’s urban regeneration includes expropriating abandoned factories and converting them into housing projects.
- The plan will allow private sector developers to turn expropriated factories into low-cost affordable housing.
- The abandoned factories that have been identified are located in areas such as Kew, Devland, Rabie Ridge, Doornfontein, Booysens and Nancefield.
- Also identified are 16 factories next to the township of Alexandra.
“The City will now begin a process of preparing a proposal to Council in August 2019, which will allow the City to begin the legal proceedings of expropriating these properties as abandoned buildings. These factories will be expropriated within the existing legal framework of the Constitution”, Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba said in a statement released yesterday.
“For this we will utilise the fact that they are abandoned, owners are untraceable and monies owing on these properties exceed their value,” Mashaba added.
The City will be able to put these properties out to the private sector once Council gives its support on it proposal. The properties will then be awarded on the criteria that achieves the largest number of residential units, the lowest rentals, the highest job creation and investment, the City added.
“The City of Johannesburg, previously, has sought to tackle the housing backlog with a reliance upon RDP housing each year which could never begin to reduce the challenge. This is why the multi-party government has adopted an approach which is producing sizeable results in site and service projects, informal settlement upgrades, social housing and partnering with the private sector.
“In the environment in which government alone cannot address the staggering housing backlogs, it is imperative that we create the environment for the private sector to unleash the potential of their balance sheets, expertise and efficiency to the benefit of the poorest residents in our City,” Mashaba further explained.
Author: GBA News Desk
Source: City of Johannesburg Media Statements
