Hijacked properties a thriving business for ‘shack lords’
PROPERTY hijacking is on the increase in Durban suburbs with several cases being reported in Clare Estate, Sydenham, Reservoir Hills and Isipingo.
Shack lords are reportedly hijacking vacant homes or land and unfinished building projects.
They claim the space as their own – either on private or municipal owned property – and then lease out sub plots to people who are looking for accommodation.
Vincent Chetty, of the Clare Estate Action Committee, said they had been investigating complaints of hijacked properties in Clare Estate, Sydenham and Reservoir Hills for more than a decade. He said the problem was escalating.
Shack lords were well-connected people who understood how to play the game, said Chetty.
“They sell plots in the hijacked property to people who are desperate for a place to stay. In most cases, these people are desperate for accommodation because they have moved to the city for job opportunities. A plot can sell for anything between R3 500 and R15 000 in our area. The price is determined by the size of the plot,” said Chetty.
“The shack lords charge a monthly rental over and above the deposit for the land. All of this is done without permission from the local municipality or the owner of the property. It is completely taken over without due processes being followed,” he added.
“After the plots are sold, the construction process begins. When there are about 70 to 100 residents on the property, we often see municipality and other officials come in and install services like water and electricity.”
He claimed that if these residents were not given water and electricity, they often protested and demanded better living conditions, resulting in the services being provided.
Chetty said in recent months, they had found that many of the shack lords were selling plots to more foreign nationals who were flocking to urban areas for employment opportunities.
ISIPINGO
In Isipingo, settlements had been emerging on hijacked properties for the past 20 years, said Aidan David, chairperson of the South Africa Police Board for the eThekwini district.
This board comprises all the community police forums in the eThekwini region, and they work with the police to combat crime.
At the corner of Khan Lane is an entrance to an informal settlement which is home to thousands of residents. One section of the settlement is built on land belonging to Nizam Akoo.
Akoo confirmed that the property belonged to his family but did not want to comment further.
However, David has lived on Khan Lane since birth.
During a walk-about with David last week, POST reporter, Jehran Naidoo, met the shack lord of that settlement, an elderly woman.
She was the first person to “hijack” the property after the Akoo family moved out 20 years ago.
On the property is a single-storey house, where the woman lives.
She has leased out plots to others who have built their homes there.
The woman was cordial, but did not want to be interviewed or disclose details about her business.
When David asked her how much a house cost, she smiled and walked away.
When he asked a resident on the property, whom he pays his rent to, he nodded his head in the direction of the elderly woman, saying “there’s the boss”.
“This problem goes back more than 20 years. I know this woman. I met her two daughters when they first arrived as children, and now they are women.
“I’m not saying she is a bad person but at the end of the day that property belongs to someone else, and she is earning a living off it,” said David.
“It is not that simple to just get people off your property after they’ve built houses on it. The police will tell you it’s a civil matter and they have nothing to do with it. In order for you to follow the legal process, it requires a lot of money which most people do not have,” said David.
“People eventually just give up on their properties after it is taken over. But, with the Akoo family they have been fighting to get their land back or at least be compensated for it.
“They have informed law enforcement and the municipality about the
situation but so far nothing has been done about the illegal occupation of their house and land,” he added.
“Sadly, nobody in the government wants to take accountability for these illegal settlements. Instead, they are supplying them with free services. There is also no support from the local councillors. The people paying for these plots are also victims because in most instances they do not know it is an illegal move. This criminal activity has grown into a huge business with a monthly revenue stream,” David said.
Inside the settlement on the Akoo family’s property, is a municipal electricity pole, which David claimed, was installed by the city. The pole enabled a network of electricity connections in the settlement, he said.
ANALYSIS
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said while the situation inside an illegal housing settlement was complex, given that there were many vulnerable families and children involved, hijacking a property was a crime that had gone unchecked.
He said this situation was created to benefit people, including “high-profile government individuals”.
“But the problem also stems from a lack of investment in rural areas, post-apartheid. This naturally forces people to flock to developed urban areas for work and a better life,” he said.
Khumalo said this crime was allowed to go on because of the lack of political will to stop it, and that free services were given in exchange for votes.
“Of course it is a crime to hijack a property, build a settlement on it and then start charging people rent to live there. That belongs to someone else but this goes on because our politicians allow it to go on.
“There are a lot of high-profile politicians and government leaders who know about the hijacked property problem, but do nothing. These illegal settlements and the people living there are just used as political subjects.
“This chaos is created to help politicians stay in power. For instance, if there is a councillor who wants to move up the ladder, he will find vacant land and get people to build a settlement there.
“He then goes to those residents and says ‘vote for me and I will give you water and electricity for free’.
“These people are being used because they are desperate for free water and electricity, but who benefits the most? Whose party will stay in power and in the government?” Khumalo asked.
If the situation continued at this rate, it would turn into “absolute chaos”, he said, as the pressure on the infrastructure and formal households would overwhelm the system.
“It’s obvious who is footing the bill for these settlements. It’s the formal dwellings nearby that are connected to the same grid. KwaZulu-Natal is still more rural than it is urban. Lots more people will flock to the cities, if the provincial and national governments fail to invest in rural areas. The problem will only get worse,” he said.
“We also have politicians who open our borders to foreigners. That is another element driving this problem and creating a demand for housing. The political will to solve the problem is not there,” Khumalo added.
The eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana, said the municipality did not own all properties and land parcels in the municipal jurisdiction, and the majority of these were privately owned.
“Therefore, the onus of maintaining a private property/vacant land lies with the property owner to prevent the property being hijacked and occupied as an informal settlement,” she said.
“The property owner must report the illegal occupation to the police to be dealt with in terms of trespassing. Furthermore, where there are illegal occupants, the property owner will have to approach the court so that they can seek a court order to remove them from their property.
“There are no official records indicating that the city has electrified the settlement at the corner of Khan Lane and Orient Road in Isipingo. Given the presence of two municipal buildings in the vicinity, there is a significant likelihood that the current electrical connection is illegal and unauthorised.
“The city is committed to investigating this matter further. It is also important to emphasise that we do not provide unmetered connections. Therefore, it is highly probable that the property is operating on an illegal power supply,” she added.