Following the recent Melgisedek Building fire at the beginning of the month, the metro continues its efforts to relocate the illegal occupants.

MMC for Corporate and Shared Services and Chairperson of the Bad Buildings Committee, Kholofelo Morodi, has recently stated that the metro is currently undergoing various court proceedings to relocate the occupants, and further details cannot be discussed at this stage.

Morodi stated that following an investigation, the cause of the fire remains undetermined.

She also confirmed that since 2014, when the building was declared unfit for human occupation, there have been various efforts to evacuate the occupants.

“We have reached out to Home Affairs and other organs of state. It must be taken into consideration that this matter is not solely the responsibility of the municipality, but rather a collective effort which involves other organs.

“At this stage, specific details regarding the proposed relocation sites are part of ongoing court proceedings and cannot be disclosed,” Morodi told Rekord.

On February 2 at about 07:30, the city’s Emergency Services Department (ESD) responded to a fire incident there.

After the call reached the emergency call centre, firefighters from Innesdale, Hatfield, and Central Fire Stations were dispatched to the scene to contain the blaze.

Firefighters found the third floor of one of the buildings engulfed in flames.

The roof later collapsed, and preliminary assessments indicate that about 20 rooms were affected by the fire.

Fortunately, no casualties were recorded as the occupants of the building managed to evacuate safely before the fire spread.

Four patients were, however, treated for smoke inhalation and transported to a nearby medical facility.

The Melgisedek building, close to Steve Biko Academic Hospital, has become infamous over the last 14 years for its state of severe decay, and is alleged to be a haven for vagrancy, crime, and illegal trading.

Morodi previously said that Melgisedek has been a ‘ticking time bomb’.

She added that the metro will not wait for loss of life to begin relocating the inhabitants of this and other similar buildings in the area.

“I want to be unequivocal: the city cannot and will not wait for loss of life before acting. Considering this fire and the building’s prior classification as unsafe, the city will be approaching the [High] Court on an urgent basis to seek an order permitting the relocation of occupants from the building. This step is necessary, lawful and driven solely by the imperative to protect lives,” Morodi said.

Efforts to evict or evacuate residents from the buildings date at least as far back as February 2024, when Nic Botha, at the time metro spokesperson on housing, said that steps were being taken to remove illegal residents.

He repeated this promise in April of last year, saying that the residents would be removed by the end of July.

These removals, however, never took place. The metro has blamed the failure on this process on human rights lawyers, saying correctly that people cannot be legally evicted if they have no alternative accommodation to go to.

In August of last year, during an interview with Rekord, the caucus leader of the Freedom Front Plus Grandi Theunissen expressed shock about the condition of certain buildings in the CBD.

“It is unacceptable and contributes to crime. It is also dangerous. We don’t want another Marshalltown in Tshwane, with residents burning in unsafe buildings,” said Theunissen.

Morodi and fellow officials visited the Melgisedek site following the fire. She said their findings reaffirm the committee’s position regarding the risk that bad buildings carry in the metro.

“This incident sadly confirms what the committee has consistently warned about: bad buildings are a direct threat to human life. They are not an abstract policy issue but a real and present danger to residents, emergency responders, and surrounding communities,” Morodi added.

“For too long, unsafe buildings have been allowed to deteriorate while residents are placed at risk. The work of the Bad Buildings Committee is about restoring order, enforcing the law, and putting people’s safety first,” Morodi said.

Following the fire, calls for a permanent solution have intensified from opposition parties and stakeholders alike.

One such stakeholder, Housing spokesperson for the DA and Ward 59 councillor Shaun Wilkinson, said the Melgisedek Building fire represents a failure of municipal administration.

He believes that building inspections, fire compliance, occupancy control and enforcement are operational responsibilities of the city’s administration and should function effectively.

“Well done and thank you to the Tshwane Emergency Services that responded under extreme conditions, but reactive crisis management cannot replace routine prevention.

“Unsafe and overcrowded buildings are known risks. When inspections and enforcement are inconsistent, residents, particularly the most vulnerable, are placed in harm’s way,” Wilkinson said.

Though the metro has stated its intention to relocate the occupants, Wilkinson remains suspicious of the technicalities regarding this move and asserts that further prevention is needed before a similar incident occurs.

“Relocation must not simply shift people from one unsafe building to another, or displace them far from jobs and social networks, including to outlying areas such as Cullinan.

“Going forward, the city’s administration must conduct regular fire-risk audits of high-risk buildings, enforce by-laws without delay, and ensure that lawful, safe alternative accommodation is planned. A capable city prevents disasters through competent administration; it does not wait for tragedy before acting,” Wilkinson added.

The mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, said the metro has identified the land it wishes to relocate the occupants to and is only awaiting an order from the High Court approving the eviction.

Once this is received, the residents will be moved to a piece of land that the council has identified as safe.

Moya has confirmed that after the removal, the building will be demolished.

Following the evacuations, the metro said it intended to collaborate with the private sector to refurbish the building.

“The plan is to collaborate with the private sector for the redevelopment of that land. This property was one of the sites presented at the Investment Summit hosted by the city last year,” Morodi concluded.

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