Suliman Rajah writes*:

“A child’s life is not a spark to be extinguished by neglect; a home is not a flame to be fed by injustice. When we fail to shelter one, we burn the future of all.”
The fires that have swept across the JB Marks Municipality in recent weeks are not merely a disaster; they are a damning indictment of a system that continues to fail its most vulnerable citizens. These fires, which have devoured the lives of our people and the futures of our children, are a symptom of a deeper, more devastating disease: the systemic inequality and state neglect that has become the hallmark of post-apartheid South Africa.

A Crisis Born of Neglect

As the flames consume the informal settlements, we are confronted with a bitter truth: these fires are fueled by desperation. It would appear that a major contributor to these infernos is the proliferation of illegal electricity connections. But let us not be mistaken, these connections are not born of criminal intent, but of survival. They are the direct result of a state that has failed to provide decent living conditions to the very citizens it has rendered outcasts.
The recent tragedy in Johannesburg, where 74 lives were lost in a building fire, laid bare the deadly consequences of this neglect. The occupants of that building, like countless others across our country, were forced to connect water and electricity illegally, turning their homes into potential death traps. The combustible materials used to partition rooms, combined with the constant threat of electrical faults, create a ticking time bomb in every informal settlement.

The Architecture of Inequality

These informal settlements are not just prone to fires. During rainy seasons, they become death traps of flooding. Throughout the year, they lack access roads, sanitation, water, electricity, housing, schools, and clinics. This is the reality for millions of South Africans, a reality that stands in stark contrast to the opulence enjoyed by a privileged few.

This is not by accident. This is the legacy of a colonial project that has been sustained and deepened by neoliberal policies that cripple colonized states throughout the world.

The “western empire” has ensured that the wealth of our nation remains in the hands of a few, while the majority are left to fight for scraps.
White monopoly capital owns most of the land, the financial sector, the health sector, the educational sector, and the security sector. These parallel structures hollow out the state, rendering it incapable of serving the people. Land ownership remains a critical site of inequality, with white South Africans owning the vast majority of land, a fact that continues to fuel economic dispossession.

This economic stranglehold is accompanied by a small black elite who have chosen to emulate the white monopoly capitalists through corruption, nepotism, and cronyism. This elite, while wearing the mask of liberation, has become complicit in the continued exploitation of the masses. Together, these forces create a system where the poor are systematically excluded from basic services and decision-making processes.

The Deaths Are Not Accidents

Every death caused by a fire in an informal settlement is a political murder. When a child’s life is devoured by flames born of an unjust system, a colonial oppressor benefits. The oppressed are forced into these death traps, and when they inevitably burn, they are blamed for their own demise.

The state has failed to implement the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP), a policy designed to improve these areas. Instead of investing in in-situ upgrades, the government often prioritizes housing delivery models that break up communities and ignore the existing spatial relations that have been self-organized by residents.

The planning system itself is a form of control, often excluding informal settlement communities from decisions that directly impact their lives.
The pattern is clear, repeated across the nation. From Cape Town’s “toilet wars” to the devastating fires in Johannesburg and now JB Marks, the state’s response has been reactive rather than proactive. The constant service delivery protests are a testament to the deep-seated frustration and anger felt by communities who have been abandoned by their government.

A Nation in Crisis

This narrative is not confined to JB Marks; it is a national crisis. Across South Africa, approximately 5 million people live in informal settlements, where the “vulnerability trap” of poverty, weak infrastructure, and climate pressures creates recurring disasters. These conditions are not acts of nature; they are symptoms of inequality.
The debate over land ownership and economic freedom is not an abstract political discussion; it is a matter of life and death. The calls for land expropriation are a demand for justice, a demand to dismantle the structures of oppression that continue to steal the lives of our children.

It is therefore correct to say that behind every death of a child to a fire in the informal settlement, a colonial oppressor benefits. Behind every mother who loses her home to a flood, a system of inequality profits. Behind every family that shivers in the cold without electricity, a neoliberal policy wins.
We cannot continue to accept these deaths as inevitable. We must demand accountability from the state. We must demand that the government fulfill its constitutional obligation to provide adequate housing, water, sanitation, and electricity to all its citizens. We must confront the economic apartheid that continues to divide our nation.
The flames of JB Marks must be a wake-up call for the entire nation. We must build a South Africa where no child has to die for the crime of being born poor. We must build a South Africa where every citizen has access to the basic necessities of life. The time for action is now. The lives of our people depend on it.

* The views and opinions expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or editorial position of the publication.