Johannesburg - The Gauteng Department of Social Development says it is working around the clock to find alternative accommodation for the victims of the Joburg CBD building fire.
At least 73 lives were lost in a fire that engulfed a former women’s shelter building on Albert Street, Johannesburg.
More than 200 people have been left homeless after the building they were using as their home caught fire.
Some have lost their belongings, food and loved ones, including children, in the incident that has left the city of Joburg reeling with shock.
Speaking from one of the shelters being prepared for the victims in Bez Valley, the MEC for Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mbali Hlophe, said she and her office had cancelled a council sitting that was scheduled for Thursday after she heard the news on Thursday morning.
“We are here at the Hofland Park Community Centre, which is being prepared to help accommodate the victims of the blaze. This facility accommodates 140 people and will be one of the facilities we are going to use to accommodate women, children, and a portion of the men affected. As a department, we are doing our best to ensure they get food and a place to sleep. We will not get into politics, as this is an emergency that needs humanitarian intervention,” Hlophe said.
Hlophe said more facilities will be made available to ensure that the victims have a place to stay in the meantime.
ActionSA said it has deployed councillors and activists to assist the families “affected by the devastating fire in Marshalltown, Johannesburg, and we extend our sincere condolences to the families of the people killed in the inferno”.
“We are heartbroken that over 60 people have died in this horrific incident. Our activists and councillors were already on the scene early this morning to help emergency services and will continue to help the community in any way possible. One life lost is one life too many.”
ActionSA has long highlighted the dangers hijacked buildings hold for Johannesburg residents, with Herman Mashaba as former Johannesburg executive mayor spearheading a project to reclaim these buildings to provide affordable housing.
The party’s Gauteng spokesperson, James de Villiers, said the party has been left saddened and shocked by the crisis caused by the fire.
“We urge the Gauteng Province and the City of Johannesburg to provide urgent emergency services to the affected community, including providing alternative accommodation and establishing a mobile clinic close to the scene.
“The state should also expedite processes to reclaim these buildings to avoid similar disasters from taking place in the future. The people living in these buildings deserve better than the squalor they have been forced to live in,” De Villiers said.
The Star