Operation Bring Back to reclaim hijacked properties

RESIDENTS and housing advocacy groups, Reclaim the City and Ndifuna Ukwazi (RTC/NU) Law Centre, are gearing-up to face off against the Department Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) in the Western Cape High Court tomorrow.

- CHEVON BOOYSEN

It comes as DPWI Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala on Friday embarked on a mission to claim back stolen/hijacked properties in Goodwood and Khayelitsha under the campaign, Operation Bring Back. It was part of the nationwide campaign, which Zikalala is leading across the country.

According to the DPWI, in the Western Cape alone, over 40 state-owned properties are believed to be illegally occupied, hijacked, or stolen.

According to RTC/NU, the DPWI will urgently seek to evict residents from Reclaim the City’s Irene Grootboom House.

The property was previously known as 104 Darling Street and was once a residential property.

The residents of the property have allegedly had numerous engagements with the DPWI, “with less assistance from Public Works”.