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Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi briefs media in Johannesburg on September 3, 2025.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso building fire has indicated that the cause of hijacked buildings in the Johannesburg CBD is a result of extreme poverty, which forces residents to live in unsafe conditions.
Lesufi addressed a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday, where he shared the key outcomes of the recent Executive Council Lekgotla.
Seventy-six people, mostly foreign nationals, died when a fire engulfed the hijacked, state-owned building in Marshall Town in August 2023.
Lesufi says the province will work closely with the City of Johannesburg to ensure that the issue of hijacked buildings is tackled.
He says, “In summary, this is what the report states: the root cause was misidentified. The investigation challenges the common assumptions that hijacked buildings are the primary problem and evidence shows that only a small majority, 5.7% had problems of rent collection by non-owners. The crisis is instead driven by extreme poverty and a severe lack of affordable housing, forcing people into living in unsafe conditions.”
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