Fire at Centurion station destroys 25 shacks

About 65 people were left homeless after a fire destroyed 25 shacks at an informal settlement near the Centurion train station on the corner of Fountains Avenue, Shepstone and Potgieter roads last week.

Now, a local ward councillor is blaming the fire on the national government.

“The fire at this illegal settlement on Sunday, January 15, was avoidable,” said ward 57 councillor David Farquharson.

“If the national government had enforced the laws, this would not have happened.”

According to Farquharson, the land on which the informal settlers are living belonged to Prasa and Transnet, both state-owned enterprises.

He accused both of dragging their feet because they were not directly affected by the situation.

Prasa and Transnet have, however, denied that the piece of land belonged to them.

When Rekord contacted Prasa, spokesperson Andiswa Makanda told the publication that the land didn’t belong to the institution.

Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi in turn said that the land did not belong to Transnet.

“Elderly residents would not have had to stand with hosepipes to protect their property against the raging fire if the government did its job,” Farquharson said.

When asked why the municipality wasn’t assisting with the illegal settlement situation, Farquharson said the metro had gone “above and beyond” in trying to assist the dwellers previously.

He, however, didn’t say what kind of measures were tried.

“The City has gone above its obligations by offering alternative accommodation to the illegal settlement residents who are believed to be mostly foreigners.”

Farquharson said that the shack fire was started by cable thieves burning the protective coating off cables as the area has been plagued by cable theft.

He also said that a nearby old age home next to the station was also damaged by the fire, adding that both Prasa and Transnet should be held liable for those damages.

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