Latest news with #illegaloccupation
The Herald
17 hours ago
- The Herald
Inside Houghton property where 90 undocumented migrants were found
In one of the back rooms, a 27-year-old Malawian woman who appeared surprised, emerged to see what was happening. She said she was in South Africa to study and had been invited to come to South Africa by her brother Diyason. 'I do have a passport. I had just arrived this month. My brother, Brown, called me when I was at home and said there was an opportunity to study in South Africa and he has accommodation where I can sleep,' she said. A huge yard inside the high walls seems to have had a swimming pool, which has since been destroyed. Some of the rooms are partitioned by cardboard boxes. In one of the rooms, what appears to be the electrical mains box is loaded with electrical wires. An online search on the property market shows the property was bought by a company in August last year for more than R6m. Tshwaku said his inspection was part of the city's ongoing efforts to address illegal occupation, enforce bylaws and uphold the safety and integrity of residential communities. During his visit, officials from Johannesburg Water cut off the water connection, while City Power cut off the illegal electricity connection. Tshwaku said they got a tip-off that there was a house where there was a lot of activity with many people going in and out. 'Yesterday [Thursday], we did the oversight to check what's happening at night. It was a surprise visit. That's when we discovered they were undocumented foreigners, about 92 of them,' he said.
Mail & Guardian
30-05-2025
- General
- Mail & Guardian
City of Cape Town investigates International Peace College building project
The International Peace College South Africa has been accused of illegally occupying part of a refurbished building in Cape Town after failing to submit building plans and appoint an engineer to oversee construction of the revamp project. Photos: Supplied The International Peace College South Africa (ISPA) has been accused of illegally occupying part of a refurbished building in Cape Town after failing to submit building plans and appoint an engineer to oversee construction of the revamp project. Whistleblower Salma Moosa, an interior architect who previously worked on the project in Rylands, told the Mail & Guardian about her year-long battle to get the The Moosa said she had sent emails to the city, including to mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, the office of the city ombudsman and the fire department in November 2024 but had not received a response to her complaint about the failure to In the meantime, she noticed that the building had been occupied. In her letter to Hill-Lewis, Moosa alleged that construction had continued on the site despite the city having issued a stop work notice to the IPSA on 18 April 2024. 'Despite my insistence that a structural engineer be appointed, the client refused to do so. I even went as far as bringing a structural engineer to site to evaluate the work … [The] municipality will be held accountable if the structure fails and there is a loss of life, as I have raised these concerns with the relative building inspectors for the area via telephone,' Moosa wrote. 'I am concerned about the safety of the students as it is a public building, and it is currently being used.' Moosa alleged building works proceeded with no professional engineer being appointed, no structural design plans, no sign-off of construction work and no architectural building plans were submitted or approved for the building works. 'The subcontractor did not follow any of the construction regulations for establishment of the site,' she alleged. 'The building is currently being utilised for teaching despite no occupational certificate issued.' Moosa said she eventually received a letter from the city's ombudsman on 15 May advising that the office was in the process of 'registering and assessing the matter' but this was only after the M&G had prodded the city regarding her complaint. She said she felt it was her moral duty to blow the whistle on the non-compliance with the building regulations. Cape Town's deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment, Eddie Andrews, confirmed Moosa's fears in his response to the M&G's questions regarding the status quo of the development. (Graphic: John McCann/M&G) 'The work done contravenes section 4(1) read with section 4(4) of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act No 103 of 1977. The owners started with building on site prior to obtaining written approval from the local authority for such work,' Andrews said. 'No building plan applications have been submitted to date, hence the matter is referred to the city's legal services department.' He added that it followed that 'no occupancy certificate has been issued, as no building plan has been approved'. Asked why the city had not forced the developer and the IPSA to comply with its stop work notice, Andrews said it was taking legal steps to enforce compliance. 'Due to non-compliance with the notices served on the registered owners, the matter was referred to the city's legal services department for prosecution/further processing to the municipal court,' he said. 'We are awaiting feedback from the processing office at legal services to determine where in the process the matter is. At this stage the matter is still being investigated by the city's legal services department.' Moosa said she had dealt with IPSA representative Nazier Osman regarding the project's construction work and interior design. Osman referred the M&G's request for comment to the college's attorney, Edwin Petersen, who, acting for Osman and the IPSA,demanded that the M&G retract the story and threatened legal action. Petersen said the allegations were 'unsubstantiated, defamatory, and malicious'. 'These claims are categorically denied in their entirety and are unequivocally rejected as false, reckless, and engineered to tarnish the reputation of both our client and the institution.' He said the allegations regarding the illegal building activity were 'devoid of truth' and 'constitute a deliberate campaign to damage IPSA's standing as a respected educational institution'. 'The insinuation that IPSA or Mr Nazier Osman engaged in unlawful construction practices is rejected. IPSA has consistently acted in good faith and is cooperating fully with the City of Cape Town's inquiries. Any suggestion [of] … non-compliance or negligence is vehemently denied. We are currently reviewing the matter, and a comprehensive response will be furnished in due course.' He said the company would submit its detailed response to the allegations by 16 May, but had not responded to the M&G's follow-up email requesting this further comment by the time of publication.
