Vandalism delays housing for more than 200 Jeppestown fire survivors

The Johannesburg building meant to house more than 200 people who were displaced following a fire in Jeppestown, where four people died last month, has been vandalised.

Member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for Human Settlement in the City of Johannesburg, Mlungisi Mabaso said he was outraged after a recent visit to Phumalani Court, where the city planned to relocate the fire survivors.

The MMC was shocked by the state of the building.

‘It looked like a construction site’

“I was concerned about the delay in moving people to the building, but I was informed that it has been vandalised. Some units had also been invaded. I couldn’t fully comprehend the situation,” Mabaso said on Thursday.

In August, four people died and over 200 people were displaced after a fire broke out at a building in Jeppestown, downtown Johannesburg.

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Tents on a soccer field temporarily housed the survivors of the fire while the city searched for suitable housing.

Mabaso said the city had a security company protecting the building all day with access control in place. But when he arrived, the MMC said the reality was worse than reported.

“Fewer than 30 were vacant, and all were heavily vandalised. It looked like a construction site,” he said.

Legal action against security company

The damage also included stolen water pumps, each costing the city R100 000, and four have been removed.

The MMC said he has engaged with the executive director of the department and the security provider to initiate legal actions, holding them accountable for the losses.

ALSO READ: Four dead in Jeppestown building fire [VIDEO]

The city will also have to start evicting the current illegal occupants of the unit. Reports allegedly suggest that the current tenants invited others to move in, and some security personnel are implicated.

“It is unacceptable for the city to lose valuable property like this when we pay security personnel to protect them. If we don’t change how we address these issues, we risk losing more properties,” Mabaso said.

“The security companies guarding our assets must be held accountable for these failures as they are paid consistently.”

City assess damage

The city will now assess the property’s damage and perform the required renovations to get it ready for occupancy.

“We hope the legal process for evicting the illegal occupants proceeds smoothly. We also need to uncover who allowed these people into the units and who is collecting rent from them in a government-owned property,” the MMC said.

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“We must make an example of these criminals to show that we are serious about dealing with syndicates that take over our buildings.”