The City of Tshwane’s fight against hijacking of inner-city buildings could soon take a new turn aimed at deporting illegal immigrants likely to be found guilty of invading those properties.
This comes after MMC for Community Safety, Grandi Theunissen, also FF Plus councillor, indicated that the municipality and the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, agreed to join hands in addressing the problem.
“It is expected that a formal co-operative agreement will be entered into soon,” he said.
As part of the agreement, he said, illegal immigrants, particularly those guilty of crime and illegal land occupation, will soon be deported to their country of origin.
Theunissen said: “The FF Plus discussed how to address several pressing problems, including illegal land occupation, crime, the sale of counterfeit goods, cable theft, illegal electricity connections and extortion, with Minister Schreiber on Friday.”
He cited foreigners who illegally occupy abandoned buildings in the city centre as one of the biggest issues.
Illegal occupants, he said, would rent rooms to other undocumented foreigners which poses a health, fire and safety risk.
“It is suspected that syndicates are working with city officials, law firms and the deeds office to transfer properties to criminals’ names,” he said.
He pointed out that large quantities of counterfeit goods are being sold in Pretoria west, where many Somalis live, while drug trafficking is the order of the day in Sunnyside

where mostly Nigerians live.
“Centurion and Pretoria East, where Zimbabweans and Mozambicans are concentrated, are affected by cable theft and infrastructure vandalism.
He said the minister was asked to help with immediate deportation, more stringent border control and investigating corruption at South African borders.
“The FF Plus is of the opinion that other departments should also be involved to curb the problem effectively. The illegal hijacking of buildings in Tshwane must be stopped, so, the FF Plus is committed to eradicating the problem and the crime that goes hand in hand with it,” he said.
Early this year former MMC for Corporate and Shared Services, Kingsley Wakelin, now MP, said the City wanted to tackle hijacked and illegally occupied buildings in the Pretoria CBD in line with a resolution passed by council.
Melgisedek buildings in Riviera were said to be top on the list of illegally occupied properties targeted by the City in terms of the council-approved programme called Tshwane Sustainable and Better Buildings.
The programme is aimed at driving inner-city regeneration by tackling derelict and illegally occupied buildings.
Wakelin said negligent property owners, slumlords, and building hijacking syndicates have taken advantage of people desperate for affordable and well-located accommodation, leading to the illegal occupation of buildings V.5608

The extensions will help address a backlog of applications. One of the first acts of new Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has been to give visa applicants a reprieve. Schreiber extended the temporary concession for foreigners awaiting the outcome of their visa, waiver and appeal applications. Home Affairs claims the move is aimed at addressing a backlog of applications and not prejudicing the applicants due to the expected delays. Protection for lawful contributors to SA V.5616
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Joel Sihle Ngubane of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and a member of the portfolio committee on Home Affairs have called on the department to prioritise local skills before issuing critical skills visas to foreigners. V.5617
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The White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection proposes a raft of legislative reforms. • One is that the period a foreign national resides in the country won`t be the main considering factor for granting permanent residency. • The Department of Home Affairs is looking to introduce a points-based system for foreign nationals to apply for residency. V.5618
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Here are the latest adjustments to 2024 car licence renewal fees in South Africa, as the department continues with stringent reforms … The new Transport Minister is taking the department to task over 2024 car licence renewal fees. However, motorists are reminded that when it comes to how much licence renewal will cost outright, it still varies from province to province. V.5614
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The news: South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced the government’s plan to digitise the department, eliminating the need for in-person visits. The government expects this online system to reduce, if not eliminate, in-person visits by transforming the current paper-based processes into an automated platform, allowing South Africans to access services like ID applications, passport renewals, and visas remotely. V.5615
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Germany`s Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Kenya`s President William Ruto signed the deal in Berlin Germany has agreed to open the doors to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers in a controlled and targeted labour migration deal. Kenya is struggling with increasing difficulties in providing work and sufficient income for its young professionals, while Germany is facing a shortage of skilled labour. V.5609
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BEIJING - China said it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population. Hundreds of millions of people in China are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the birth rate dwindles dramatically. V.5610
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A surprise inspection at a Pretoria restaurant resulted in the arrest of two foreign national employees who allegedly did not have documentation to be in the country. (Alex Mitchley/News24) • The Department of Labour has conducted a `blitz` inspection at a restaurant in Menlyn. • The surprise inspection came after a complaint alleging the flouting of labour practices by a former employee that started making the rounds on social media. • One of the restaurant owners dismissed the allegations. V.5611
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The Western Cape High Court has temporarily stopped the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The Western Cape High Court has temporarily halted the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The interim interdict will remain in place pending the outcome of the main court application brought by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town. • The court is expected to hear that main challenge in February 2025. V.5612
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South Africa’s plan to attract more professionals to its skills-starved economy through the introduction of a so-called nomad visa for remote workers has been slowed by the need to amend tax regulations. The impediment comes after an initial delay when changes to the visa regime had to be temporarily withdrawn because mandatory public consultation procedures hadn’t been followed. V.5613
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