Mamelodi organisations have called on locals to reject the DA-led administration’s plan to relocate victims of the Cemetery View shack fire from Woodlands in Pretoria east to Mamelodi.
The organisations claim the distance from Cemetery View to where the metro intended to place the victims is more than 11 kilometres.
The Tshwane metro roads and transport department recently made six buses available to “dump” the victims of the fire that claimed three lives on Saturday in Mamelodi and left them destitute.
“We have seen this movie many times before,” the organisations said.
But Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the department buses would transport the victims to temporary accommodation in the Stanza Bopape hall in Mamelodi East and another community hall in Mamelodi West.
He said the city was negotiating with churches in Region 6 to accommodate other victims.
He said the relocation was scheduled for 16:00 on Sunday.
Councillor Seabelo Marishane of Mamelodi said Mamelodians sympathised with the victims but urged the city to work with all relevant stakeholders to find an alternative.
“We do not agree with any relocation of the victims to Mamelodi, whether temporary or long term.
“We also wish to remind the residents in the formal dwellings neighbouring Cemetery View when the government wanted to deport the same victims (as the majority if not all of them were illegal immigrants), they refused and even secured them the service of a lawyer to prevent the process,” Marishane said.
“Now they should again find a way to help them but keep them in their neighbourhood,” he said.
“We condemn the city for planning to bring them to us here in Mamelodi without consulting us. There are many facilities that can accommodate them where they are.”
He said the facilities in Mamelodi should be reserved for locals and Tshwane must, with immediate effect, stop the relocation and review its plan.
Mamelodi Sanco chairperson Joseph Kgatle said his organisation wished to send condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives in the fire but condemned city plans to relocate them to Mamelodi.
He said this unfortunate incident would not have happened had Tshwane availed land for housing purposes.
“Sanco in Mamelodi condemned in the strongest terms plans by the DA-led administration to relocate victims of this fire from Woodlands to Mamelodi.
“Our view is that there are community halls in Pretoria east. Why doesn’t Tshwane accommodate them there?”
He said it was well known that Tshwane had a bad track record on relief for victims of disaster, be it floods or fire.
Kgatle said the victims should reject Tshwane’s offer to relocate them to Mamelodi. Equally, the people of Mamelodi should refuse to allow their recreational facilities to be used for this purpose.
“Tshwane has a lot of unused land and community facilities in Garsfontein, Woodlands and other historically white areas in the east that would afford victims better accommodation than our halls.”
Tshwane emergency services spokesperson, Deputy Chief Peter Motolla said the Cemetery View informal settlement was destroyed on Saturday night, September 23, when a veld fire spread to and razed shacks, leaving thousands homeless.
“We received a call at 20:19 about a grass fire at the informal settlement,” Motolla said.
About 150 shacks had burned to the ground, leaving 2 000 people homeless.
“The cause of the grass fire is unknown at this stage.”
Motolla confirmed two fatalities.
“A man and his five-year-old daughter died,” he had said.
On Monday morning, settlement residents had begun rebuilding with wood and plastic sheeting.
Freedom Nduna, one of the residents who lost everything in the fire, was rebuilding a new shack where the previous one had once stood.
“We got help from the pastor who brought us food and clothing and some sponges to sleep on,” said Nduna.
“We need blankets, and something to eat while we rebuild.”
He told Rekord that he wasn’t aware of any promised assistance but would welcome any.
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