Diepkloof Hostel’s private ownership questioned by MMC

Johannesburg Human Settlements MMC Mlungisi Mabaso says they want to know how a portion of the Diepkloof Hostel in Soweto ended up in private hands.

This after hostel residents embarked on a violent protest over the land and the dilapidated state of the hostel.

Two people died following the protest.

Video: Diepkloof Protest | Update on deaths of two protestors

Mabaso visited the hostel on Monday afternoon. He says the land transfer to a private entity is illegal as it should have followed council processes.

“Through the investigations that we did earlier on, we discovered that there’s a company that owns the hostel and there’s a portion that is owned by the City of Johannesburg. But as I indicated that in July, we will be here to introduce a contractor to deal with the issues of sanitation as they have raised with us and then we will deal with other issues as we move forward. Remember this is a legal process and none of us were not there when this illegal transaction happened,”