FOR the umpteenth time, families living in Masiphumelele are finding themselves sifting through ashes to salvage what few possessions remain after yet another fire ravaged a portion of the township on Wednesday.
This time 100 families have been burned out and left destitute in a fire believed to have been started by an unattended paraffin stove.
And overcrowded conditions are again being blamed for preventing firefighters from reaching the heart of the fire.
“This site, however, was not part of an informal settlement as was the case in all the fires in Masiphumelele last year. It almost makes the whole event more tragic, because a solution to the problem seems even further out of reach,” says ward councillor Felicity Purchase.
“The fire occurred in an official neighbourhood, which shows that these fires cannot be stemmed by the provision of houses alone. The problem goes much deeper than that,” she says.
Purchase is of the opinion that the economic collapse of certain parts of the Eastern Cape and the resulting influx into Cape Town and Masiphumelele lies at the root of the problem…
“The problem of overcrowding, as Purchase says, is a complex one and the responsibility to solve it lies with government,” he says. “The constant influx of people searching for jobs in the Western Cape is not something we can judge as it is their right to do so, to make a living for themselves.
Peoples Post
This time 100 families have been burned out and left destitute in a fire believed to have been started by an unattended paraffin stove.
And overcrowded conditions are again being blamed for preventing firefighters from reaching the heart of the fire.
“This site, however, was not part of an informal settlement as was the case in all the fires in Masiphumelele last year. It almost makes the whole event more tragic, because a solution to the problem seems even further out of reach,” says ward councillor Felicity Purchase.
“The fire occurred in an official neighbourhood, which shows that these fires cannot be stemmed by the provision of houses alone. The problem goes much deeper than that,” she says.
Purchase is of the opinion that the economic collapse of certain parts of the Eastern Cape and the resulting influx into Cape Town and Masiphumelele lies at the root of the problem…
“The problem of overcrowding, as Purchase says, is a complex one and the responsibility to solve it lies with government,” he says. “The constant influx of people searching for jobs in the Western Cape is not something we can judge as it is their right to do so, to make a living for themselves.
“Government needs to look at a program of job creation in the Eastern Cape as the space and resources in the Western Cape cannot carry the added human pressure from migration..."
Peoples Post
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