DA calls for forensic probe into Musina Municipality fire
Residents allege that the fire was started in an attempt to destroy low-cost housing lists and application forms.
LIMPOPO – The DA has written to the Limpopo MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Makoma Makhurupetje, asking her to immediately launch a forensic probe into circumstances that led to a fire at Musina Municipality’s Housing Department over the weekend.
Read more: Fire breaks out at Musina municipal building
In a statement released by DA Limpopo leader, Jacques Smalle, residents allege that the fire was started in an attempt to destroy low-cost housing lists and application forms.
Residents claim that the housing lists in the office where the fire broke out, were manipulated to include beneficiaries who were not eligible for low-cost housing and that this is the reason for the alleged arson.
“In a municipality where legitimate applicants, the majority of them poor, have waited for years to get houses, the latest development is a cause for concern as it extends the delay,” Smalle said.
The DA has urged Makhurupetje to ensure that the housing lists for the 600 houses that are due to be handed out, are transparent and awarded to legitimate beneficiaries.
The DA believes that RDP houses are an essential social service that empowers the poorest of the poor in our communities to regain their dignity through property ownership.
“We will not tolerate any attempts to interfere with a transparent and fair process to allocate houses to legitimate beneficiaries,” Smalle concluded.
The DA says it will monitor the situation to ensure that due process is followed and deserving residents benefit.
