City of Cape Town calls for decentralisation of disaster relief funding
Fires in three Cape Town informal settlements left two people dead and more than 700 displaced over the Easter holidays.
Aftermath of a fire at a Mfuleni, Cape Town, informal settlement that took place over the 2024 Easter period. Picture: X/ArchbishopThabo
CAPE TOWN - The City of Cape Town called for disaster relief funding to be decentralised.
The call came after fires in three Cape Town informal settlements left two people dead and more than 700 displaced over the Easter holidays.
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Residents from Mfuleni, Joe Slovo in Langa township, and Dunoon spent their Easter weekend reeling after they watched their belongings go up in flames.
The city said that although efforts to help the fire victims were continuing, national government must make the disaster relief fund more easily accessible to help those in need.
Many residents used what was left after the fires to rebuild their homes, while others still have no roof over their heads.
The issue of rebuilding kits for fire victims has been debated extensively between the Department of Human Settlements and the metro, but neither has taken responsibility for not providing rebuilding materials.
The City of Cape Town said budget constraints were the main reason it needed to stop providing the fire kits.