Usindiso Commission of Inquiry begins investigation into CoJ abandoned buildings
On Wednesday, commissioners started with their five-day inspections at buildings suspected of being hijacked or abandoned.
Emergency workers at the scene of the deadly Joburg CBD fire that claimed 77 lives on 31 August 2023. Picture: GCIS
JOHANNESBURG - The Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso building fire has begun its investigations looking into the scourge of hijacked and abandoned buildings in the City of Johannesburg.
On Wednesday, commissioners started with their five-day inspections at buildings suspected of being hijacked or abandoned.
The inspections are the second part of the commission’s work, after investigating what caused the fire that killed 77 people almost a year ago.
The industry house building on Five Davies Street looks nothing like the warehouse factory it used to be.
According to court records from two years ago, over 400 men, women and children live in the building.
It has no electricity or any proper water infrastructure. There is one makeshift communal tap located outside the building.
Along the streets, water contaminated with human waste and dirt runs endlessly.
Residents said they have been resisting eviction for many years because they have nowhere else to go.
Sakhephi Langa, a resident at Industry House building, said they have grown used to living without water and electricity
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 3, 2024
He said the residents in the building are a mixture of South Africans and foreign nationals.
Langa said they have been resisting eviction for many years. TCG pic.twitter.com/5rEfqPAPrd