Marshalltown fire victims moved ‘from one miserable place to another’ - GIWUSA
The leader of the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa, Mametlwe Sebei, has called on the City of Johannesburg to assist the Marshalltown fire survivors in getting back on their feet.
The call comes after the Usindiso fire survivors, who are staying in the Denver informal settlement, reportedly lost their belongings during floods caused by heavy rainfalls in the area last week.
City officials relocated the survivors to tin shacks in Denver as a temporary housing solution.
Sebei says it's not fair for survivors to be moved from one miserable place to the other.
"The fact that they are moved from one miserable housing condition that resulted in the tragedy in Marshalltown to another situation where it is a tragedy upon tragedy is an indictment to the city officials and all the levels of the state that are responsible for the provision of the so-called emergency or alternative accommodation. We need sustainable solutions."
He adds that the city had failed to install adequate drainage as part of a recent court settlement.
"People should not have been moved to a site that city engineers have not certified as safe. We have also seen security being removed from the site in violation of commitments made to the victims who fear attacks from xenophobic and criminal groups.
"As Marshalltown Fire Victims Support Campaign, we demand that city officials be held accountable for treating people in this city so inhumanely and putting their lives and livelihoods at risk yet again."
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