Over 2k Tshwane residents lose their homes following informal settlement fire
The blaze destroyed over 814 structures at the Cemetery View informal settlement over the weekend in the east of the capital.
Firefighters attend to a fire that tore through the Cemetery View informal settlement in Tshwane on 21 September 2024. Picture: X/ CityTshwane
JOHANNESBURG - Over 2,000 residents have lost their homes in the City of Tshwane following a destructive fire.
This comes amid a cold snap that gripped South Africa. It was characterised by dense snowfall, heavy rain and an evident drop in the mercury.
The blaze destroyed over 814 structures at the Cemetery View informal settlement over the weekend in the east of the capital.
One person died, and others have been hospitalised.
Community leader Banele Tshoko said the municipality instructed them not to rebuild their structures.
"They said we should not rebuild our structures as they decide. We are waiting for an answer. Those who are building don’t know where they stand."
GP GOVERNMENT SECURES LAND TO ACCOMMODATE DESTITUTE RESIDENTS
The Gauteng government has secured a plot of land to relocate residents from the Cemetery View informal settlement in the City of Tshwane.
Acting Human Settlements MEC Lebogang Maile briefed the media on Monday.
"The municipality has just appointed engineers to deal with the designs and make sure the land is ready and habitable for the relocations. We can't deal with the timeline now because they have just been appointed. What we want to do is urge the municipality to move quicker and ask the engineers to work as fast as possible," he explained.