ANC Johannesburg slams Mashaba over hijacked buildings, accuses him of wrecking inner city

The ANC in Johannesburg has strongly pushed back against ActionSA president and former mayor Herman Mashaba, accusing him of misleading the public and presiding over the collapse of the city’s inner core during his time in office.

The ANC’s response follows Mashaba’s criticism of the City of Johannesburg over its handling of hijacked buildings, where he alleged that the current administration was “negotiating with criminals” and had no clear plan for buildings reclaimed from illegal occupiers.

ANC Greater Johannesburg spokesperson Mantombi Nkosi dismissed the claims as politically motivated and divorced from reality.

“The ANC in the Greater Joburg region has noted with concern the claims made by ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba accusing the city of negotiating with criminals and lacking a plan for reclaimed buildings,” Nkosi said.

“This claim is misleading and ignores his own record during his tenure as mayor.”Hijacked buildings have long plagued Johannesburg’s inner city.

Often abandoned by private owners, the buildings are taken over by criminal syndicates who illegally rent out units, leaving residents living in unsafe, overcrowded conditions without proper sanitation, electricity or fire safety.

The issue has become one of the city’s most entrenched urban challenges.

Nkosi said the crisis cannot be resolved through evictions alone.

“Addressing hijacked buildings is not only a law enforcement task but a housing and development imperative,” she said, stressing the need for a balanced approach that considers human dignity and long-term urban renewal.

Mashaba’s remarks came after MMC for Public Safety Mgcini Tshwaku said the city would engage occupants of reclaimed buildings to assess who could afford rent, favouring negotiations over mass evictions.

Nkosi described Mashaba’s reaction as “a display of intellectual dishonesty and cynical politicking of the highest order”.

Mashaba served as Johannesburg mayor from August 2016 until November 2019, during which his administration pursued aggressive eviction campaigns in the inner city.

While framed as a crackdown on lawlessness, the strategy drew criticism for deepening instability and failing to revive the urban core.

Responding to Mashaba’s renewed attacks, Nkosi said his leadership left lasting damage.

“He did not reclaim the inner city, instead, he collapsed it,” she said.

“The urban decay that Johannesburg continues to reverse is, in significant measure, a direct result of his administration’s recklessness and mismanagement.”

While the exchange has been heated, the city has continued to decline in the last 10 years.

[email protected]

IOL Politics