Overview
- Public Safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku said the city will negotiate with residents of a hijacked CBD building who want to stop harassment and pay municipal rates.
- ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba rejected the approach as negotiating with criminals, arguing hijacked buildings harbour serious crime and unfit living conditions.
- The ANC backed Tshwaku and accused Mashaba of failing to resolve hijacked buildings and of flawed redevelopment deals that deepened decay.
- Tshwaku acknowledged the city struggles to provide alternative accommodation or trace some property owners, and he cited community pushback to proposed relocations in Orange Farm and Fleurhof.
- The DA said Johannesburg lacks constitutionally required temporary emergency housing and urged a coordinated response across departments, while reviving its own inner city plans ahead of the 2026 local elections.