Hill-Lewis, Macpherson vow to tackle problem buildings in Cape Town

CAPE TOWN - Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson have vowed to tackle problem buildings in the metro.
 
The mayor and the minister visited some of the national government's hijacked and neglected buildings in Cape Town on Friday.

Macpherson said that there were about 338 hijacked buildings belonging to government across the country.

However, he said that unlike other cities, only one of their buildings had been hijacked in Cape Town and a few others were just neglected buildings.
 
The minister had a similar visit in Durban in August, where his department was able to reclaim one of the hijacked buildings.
 
Macpherson said that he was on a mission to reclaim all these buildings and use them for public use.
  
"There are vulnerable people that live in those buildings that are being taken advantage of. There's often no electricity, no water, there's human trafficking going on, drugs and all sorts of other things. So, I think we clearly have a responsibility to take back what belongs to us and to try and seek assistance for those who are victims of those hijacked buildings."