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Mushrooming of illegal structures hard to tackle: Mawela

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Gauteng Police Commissioner Elias Mawela says the mushrooming of illegal structures in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, is hard to tackle because the residents keep on rebuilding when their houses are demolished.

Mawela has been making his presentation before the joint Commission of Enquiry held by the Human Rights Commission and the Office of the Public Protector in Braamfontein.

The commission is looking into allegations of maladministration and possible violation of human rights following violent protests in the lead up to last month’s general elections.

Mawela says the rate of crime in general has drastically gone down in the township. He however, says the mushrooming of illegal structures remains a big problem.

The commissioner says after law enforcers have demolished the structures, the affected people go back and rebuild their dwellings. Mawela also went further to highlight some of the social ills that they are faced with, which includes alcohol abuse.

He laments that the number of shebeens in the area, outnumber the number of schools, and in some cases alcohol abuse leads to crimes such as domestic violence. The hearing continues.

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