South Africa: More Than 1,200 Govt-Owned Properties are Illegally Occupied

More than 1,200 properties on the department of public works asset register are flagged as illegally occupied, TimesLIVE reports. The department says 1,260 of its 29,000 properties have been identified as such in its "Operation Bring Back" programme. The department, responsible for state property management, has been tasked with undertaking a government-wide investigation into occupied buildings in South African metros. This follows an inter-ministerial committee meeting related to the recent Marshalltown disaster in which 77 people perished in a burning, occupied state building. Operation Bring Back aims to recover stolen or illegally transferred properties and hijacked buildings; regulate occupancy in state properties through legacy housing policies, and investigate and identify more properties that are illegally occupied.

This article first Appeared on AllAfrica

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