Msawawa residents to receive building material
KYA SAND – A resident is still struggling to survive after his shack was burned to ashes in the fire that left 2 000 residents without homes.
It has been six days since a fire brought down 856 shacks in Msawawa Informal Settlement in Kya Sand, and Patrick Letswalo (30) is still struggling to survive.
This unemployed father lost everything during the fire and was seeking help since he could not afford to rebuild his shack.
Letswalo said that the fire which destroyed all his belongings left him completely devastated and without any assistance.
“I am staying at a friend. All my blankets are gone, everything is burned to ashes,” he explained.
A frustrated Letswalo indicated that he used his last money to send his wife and daughter back home to Tzaneen, Limpopo, and he would now accept any assistance.
Saadig Natha from Gift of the Givers explained that they were distributing all the clothes and blankets to residents until the end of the week.
“We will then reassess people who are still requiring help and take it from there,” explained Natha.
He further indicated that the Gift of the Givers team was on the ground assisting residents during the hailstorm on 16 November.
The provincial department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and Human Settlement is expected to deliver building material on 18 November.
The department’s MEC Jacob Mamabolo announced on 15 November after a consultative meeting with Emergency Management Services (EMS) stakeholders that the delay in rebuilding the shacks was due to assessments and having to establish the amount of households affected.
“With respect to short term relief, we have done our best as government and partners in restoring human dignity, particularly to the most vulnerable members of our society in times of need, notably people with disability, children and women,” said MEC Mamabolo.
He thanked the residents who used their own initiative to rebuild their homes and all the stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations and businesses who reacted swiftly on a series of fire incidents that have ravaged informal settlements.
MEC Mamabolo also noted challenges such as accessibility and lack of pathways which affect the timely response to disasters, particularly in informal settlements.
He explained that his department with municipalities were working on the ways to de-densify informal settlements in the City of Johannesburg which called for improved measures to render emergency relief efforts.
Details: Department of Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlement 011 355 4000. Gift of the Givers 082 557 5071.
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Gallery and Video: Fire destroys shacks in Msawawa
