The Inkatha Freedom Party in Gauteng says the tragic Joburg building fire points to the city’s failure to properly house the urban poor. The party says it also demonstrates the city’s inability to curb the hijacking of buildings in the inner city.
“While the root cause of the fire is still being investigated, it is confirmed to have left dozens of people injured. Moreover, it is heart-breaking to note that the death toll from this tragic incident continues to rise. The dire situation where many people remain desperate and need habitable human settlements, often leads to them resorting to living within hijacked buildings in the inner city. With proper care, the situation could be averted,” says IFP Gauteng chairperson Bonginkosi Dhlamini.
The Gauteng Forensic Pathology Services says DNA tests will be required to link the body parts that were collected from the gutted building. Over 70 people died in the early morning blaze. The bodies have been transported to Hillbrow and Diepkloof Government Mortuaries. Families of the deceased will be allowed to identify their loved ones who died in the fire on Friday.
Joburg CBD Fire – Distraught families and relatives continue to flock to the scene:
NGOs have been criticised for defending unlawful occupiers against illegal evictions. The Human Rights Commission’s Gauteng provincial manager, Zama Mbeki.
“A bylaw does not go above a constitution, and it is in our constitution and if we think about why that law was put in place, we go back to apartheid where a landowner would wake up in the morning and arbitrarily evict people. And all we are saying as the Human Rights Commission is that when cities make by-laws that they comply with National Legislation, which is the same legislation which is made by parties sitting in Parliament,” says Mbeki.
Joburg CBD Fire – A harrowing day as families search for loved ones:
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