Many stinking and unsafe buildings tower above the streets of Johannesburg’s inner city. Some the original owners have just abandoned. Others have been “hijacked”, leaving landlords without an income or access to their properties. 

This Tuesday Special Assignment takes us into the lives of the families who live in these dark and dilapidated blocks. Up till now the City of Joburg’s response to these so-called bad buildings was to evict the people living there. It was part of the strategy to transform Jozi into a world class city. Recently a high court judge ruled this to be unconstitutional: unless the city could come up with a plan for alternative housing, the evictions couldn’t be carried out.

We meet Khombisile Khumalo who lives with her husband and three young children in San Jose, a multi-storey building in Berea. She and the other 300 residents were facing eviction when the judge ruled in their favour.   

Khombisile’s husband is a street vendor and she makes foam cushions to supplement their income. Nelson Khathane is a committee member of the building. He argues that the building was not hijacked but that residents stopped paying rent after the legitimate owners disappeared. He says they are willing to pay for services if the city meets them halfway.  

Next Special Assignment takes the viewer into Massyn Court in Kerk Street. This multi-storey block of flats has been vandalised and stripped and our team was almost overcome by the stench of human waste and rotting garbage. Inner walls have crumbled away, making it dangerous to climb the stairs in the dark. People live here simply because they have nowhere else to go.  

Then we go undercover into an alleged hijacked building, controlled by people who unlawfully rent out buildings which they do not own.  

We also look at some of the success stories, among them Europa House. It was once a “bad” building but as part of a social housing project it has been upgraded and today provides low income housing for many. 

Now that the courts have put an end to summary evictions, the City will have to find alternative ways of dealing with high-rise slums. NGOs argue that the authorities should urgently come up with comprehensive housing plans for the poor and argue against ad hoc arrangements. But the ruling poses a serious threat to the City’s rejuvenation plans for 2010 and beyond and it intends appealing the judgement.  

No room for the poor? is produced by Johann Abrahams and was filmed by Karl Maeder. 

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