No assistance for fire victims
"I was informed by the divisional head, Mr Aubrey Mokgotsi, that the department can do nothing to assist these families as the contract between the metro and the Red Ants expired on June 30."
Six shacks burnt down last week in Vusumuzi, Tembisa, claiming the life of a mother and her two-year-old child.
The DA Lethabong Constituency Chairperson, Mr Phillip Thamahane, said when he heard about the incident, he contacted the Ekurhuleni Department of Human Settlements and asked if they can assist with building material so that the shacks can be rebuilt.
“I was informed by the divisional head, Mr Aubrey Mokgotsi, that the department can do nothing to assist these families as the contract between the metro and the Red Ants expired on June 30. The Ekurhuleni Metro used the Red Ants as a dispatch service provider, which included the rebuilding of shacks when fires occurred,” said Mr Thamahane.
Mr Thamahane said Mr Mokgotsi assured him he will be requesting that the Disaster Management Department assist the families.
“But they have failed to provide assistance to date. I was also informed by Mr Mokgotsi that the metro has been advertising for service providers to tender for a new contract. It is unacceptable that the metro has failed to enter into a new contract during the past five months, after the termination of the Red Ant contract. This means they have been unable to assist metro residents when disasters, like last week’s fire, hit,” said Mr Thamahane.
He said he will question the MMC for Human Settlements, Mr Aubrey Nxumalo, why the Disaster Management Department allowed the contract with the Red Ants to expire without starting a new procurement process.
The Tembisan sent a request for comment to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) on Monday, the day the DA statement above was released.
At the time of going to print, no comment had been received.
