Poverty not the cause of hijacked buildings

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi recently remarked that “extreme poverty is the driving force behind hijacked buildings”. We respectfully disagree. Poverty is not the cause. SA has always had poor people, even before 1994, yet buildings were not hijacked in the manner we see today.

The true drivers of this crisis are mismanagement, lack of accountability and the repeated failure of local government to enforce bylaws and maintain properties. It is lawlessness, not poverty, that fuels the hijacking of buildings.

Provincial and local governments have turned a blind eye to decaying infrastructure, abandoned buildings and the criminal syndicates that exploit them. Many of these syndicates, often controlled by foreign nationals, have capitalised on government inaction to profit from people’s desperation.

SA cannot afford more excuses or blame-shifting. What we urgently need is ethical leadership, decisive action and enforcement of the rule of law. Our citizens deserve protection and accountability, not rhetoric.

Tsepo Mhlongo
Gauteng leader, Build One SA

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