Department of Public Works wants to "turn the tide" on unlawful occupations

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) is planning to evict people unlawfully occupying 166 state properties across the country, the parliamentary public works portfolio committee heard on Wednesday.

This forms part of its Operation Bring Back programme. Most of the occupations are in Gauteng (32), Eastern Cape (31), North West (24), and the Western Cape (19).

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Molatelo Mohwasa, the department's acting deputy director-general for real estate management services, said the department is "confronted with a vast number of immovable properties that are illegally occupied".

The occupations include people living in dilapidated buildings, land taken over unlawfully, growing informal settlements, and unauthorised building work on DPWI land

The DPWI said it wants to "turn the tide" on these occupations and also reclaim hijacked buildings, preventing tragedies like the Marshalltown fire.

In 2025, the department appointed four service providers, at a cost of R237-million, to investigate the unlawfully occupied, dilapidated state properties, profile occupants, and begin the eviction process.

Mohwasa said eviction notices have been issued at the 166 identified properties. The cases are all ready for court, but legal papers have yet to be filed.

DA MP Bonginkosi Madikizela raised concerns about the cost of the planned litigation. But Mohwasa said, "We have a responsibility to recover and take [state properties] back."

He further said that recovered land can potentially be revenue-generating and dilapidated properties can be repurposed for "socio-economic objectives".