Relief efforts continue in Cape Town’s Masiphumelele informal settlement after a fire last week destroyed more than 1 000 structures.
By yesterday, the City of Cape Town had cleared 80% of the debris, but it said that, as national government budget cuts had left the city without the cash needed to provide fire and flood kits, it was in the process of having Masiphumelele declared a disaster area. This would open the channel for the resources needed to help residents.
The clean-up process has been complicated, however; the illegally occupied area destroyed by the fire is also on a wetland, making it hard for bulldozers to clear the rubble so that re-building can commence.
Donations have been pouring in to community organisation Living Hope, which is co-ordinating the relief effort. Living Hope’s Pastor John Thomas said: ‘We almost have not been able to keep up with the overwhelming number of donations that have come in and we’re still sorting them.’ He called for volunteers to assist the organisation. Distribution of the donations would be delayed until the city had issued starter kits to affected families to enable them to rebuild their homes.
Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s spokesperson Steve Motale said in a statement that the minister had instructed her director-general, Mbulelo Tshangana, ‘to work with Western Cape provincial government in finding an immediate relief to people’s housing challenges. She further appealed to all South Africans including the private sector and NGOs to assist the affected community members with essential items such as food, clothes, blankets, and protective equipment.’
[Picture: Photo: Ella Ndongeni, GroundUp]