One killed, 20 shacks destroyed in Pietermaritzburg fire
Twenty shacks were destroyed and a woman died in a fire that ripped through an informal settlement in Pietermaritzburg.
KwaZulu-Natal transport and human settlements MEC Siboniso Duma commended the Msunduzi municipality for its response to the fire which broke out in the Swapo informal settlement in Copsville on Saturday.
He said an initial assessment indicated that 15 shacks had been destroyed, but a verification process later established that 20 structures were affected.
According to Duma, 19 foreigners occupied the destroyed shacks, while one person identified as a South African had an identification document whose authenticity authorities were seeking to verify with the department of home affairs.
Duma alleged that a foreigner was acting as the landlord and charging occupants R250 per shack and that the structures had illegal electricity connections.
“We are engaging the department of home affairs to verify the authenticity of the ID owned by one South African.”
Duma said the woman who died in the fire was a foreigner, as was her partner who suffered burns.
He said a child who was initially reported to have suffered burns was alive, and it was established that the child was also a foreigner.
Though the cause of the fire was not specified by the MEC, preliminary information indicated that the fire originated in the shack occupied by the woman who died.
Duma further alleged that some South Africans were attempting to front for foreigners to enable them to receive government assistance.
“Flowing from above, we wish to reiterate our position that foreign nationals will never be considered for emergency housing assistance, building material or RDP houses. This is in line with government policy.”
He said the department of human settlements had lost more than R2bn as a result of fraud allegedly associated with the sale and rental of RDP houses to foreigners.
“This cost includes the purchase of land, rezoning for development, housing plans, environmental impact assessments, conveyancing, bulk infrastructure and construction. It takes years for the state to build such houses, and these must remain in the hands of South Africans,” he said.
