Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
07 May 2024 | 11:25 a.m. SAST
2-minute read

Image: Johannesburg Emergency Services

The Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign (MFJC) has welcomed the commission of inquiry’s report that found that the City of Jo’burg was responsible for the fire that claimed more than 70 lives in August last year.

Justice Sisi Khampepe , delivering the initial segment of her report, called for the demolition of the building after finding the city culpable for the fire. She also recommended that a memorial plaque be installed to honour the deceased.

Nigel Branken from the MFJC explained the reason that Jo’burg City and its entities were found liable for the fire on Radio Islam this morning. During the inquiry, the City of Jo’burg provided testimony indicating that the residents of the Usindiso building were responsible for the fire. However, evidence indicated that the City neglected the building and the Johannesburg Property Company abandoned and allowed it to deteriorate.

“Knowing the conditions in the building, it [the report] showed how they have a responsibility to maintain the building, to maintain fire safety in the building, as an owner of the building, but how they had just left it to deteriorate, with a plan to eventually sell it to private investors,” Branken said.

The report indicates the need for accountability, recommending disciplinary actions against responsible individuals, including Helen Botes, the CEO of the Jo’burg Property Company.

Branken calls for action beyond mere disciplinary measures, stating the need for criminal prosecutions for what he describes as “criminal neglect” on the part of the city.

The case brings to attention the need for a more responsive city government that prioritises its constitutional obligations to provide adequate housing and essential services to all citizens, particularly the marginalised, as Branken pointed out.

“We’re going to need a city that’s more responsive to its constitutional obligations to provide adequate housing, to make sure that housing is safe, to ensure service delivery is happening in our city. You just have to drive through Jo’burg streets to see the potholes, the traffic lights that are not working. We know the challenges we have with electricity. All of these service deliveries are reflective of a government that is not concentrating on delivery of service to its marginalised citizens,” Branken said.

City officials have faced criticism for their response to the commission’s findings, with some alleging that they were not given a fair opportunity to present their perspective.

However, Branken refuted these claims, citing extensive questioning of city representatives during the commission’s proceedings.

The City of Jo’burg moved the survivors to inadequate alternative shelters, Branken reports. Regular flooding at the makeshift shelter, “because the city neglected to put in adequate drainage,”  means that residents continue to live in difficult conditions.

“You can imagine you’ve lost all your possessions in a fire, and now you’ve lost your possessions 10 more times in floods,” Branken said.

Corruption in the government is exacerbating the problem, with evidence of inflated costs for both the land and the construction of the emergency accommodation, Branken noted.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat here.