BY GOITSEMANG TLHABYE
Pretoria - How could a democratically-elected government continue to let people live in horrible conditions such as Plastic View?
This question was posed by Peter Sebola, whose son Nathiel Sebola was among five people who died in a massive fire that broke out at the Pretoria east informal settlement in the early hours of on Sunday.
The second victim was from Nelspruit, while two were Mozambican nationals and the fifth a Zimbabwean. Their full identities were yet to be revealed.
Sebola, who arrived on Sunday from Limpopo, said he had been begging his son for a long time to leave the informal settlement because it was unsuitable for human habitation.
“At about 6.30am yesterday (Sunday) morning, I heard my wife screaming and crying that her son had died. I made my way here so I can collect his spirit and take it home.
“If it was possible to speak to a dead person, I would tell him of the consequences of not heeding parents’ advice. He was a smart child we had hoped would have a bright future. For some reason he lost his way and ended up in these appalling conditions,” he said.
The grieving father said the lesson for the government was that people should never have been allowed to live at Plastic View in the first place.
“Those who remain here need to be moved to a safer place as a matter of urgency,” he added.
Peter Mapfumo, who escaped with his two children, aged 8 months and 4 years old, was inconsolable. He lost his home, car and everything he had.
The Zimbabwean had been staying in Plastic View with his family since 2009 and said he had no idea how they were going to survive. “I have lost money, my bank card and passport,” he said.
He said he felt helpless after he woke up and found his home burning in the middle of the night. He only had enough time to get his children to safety as quickly as possible and ran to safety.
Colonel Andrew Lesh, head of Garsfontein police station, said the fire was believed to have been caused by a candle that fell over in one of the shacks just after midnight. It spread quickly from the eastern to the western side of the settlement.
“We estimate that 350 shacks were destroyed and about 1 500 families affected. We’ve searched the place thoroughly and found that five people died. We will only be certain once all the debris has been removed,” he said.
Ashes and faint markings where the shacks used to be was all that was left on Sunday. Victims said they had been left with only the clothes they were wearing. There were charred gate, window frames and mattress wires all over the place.
The residents were sifting through the ashes looking for anything they could salvage, while children loitered around helplessly.
Mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale said the initial plan to move the affected families to the Ikageng community centre in Mamelodi changed, as many wanted to remain closer to their workplaces.
“Tents are being set up on the premises of the nearby NG Kerk to house the families and serve as a drop-off point for people wanting to donate food, blankets, clothes and non-perishable goods.
“We have not yet decided on rebuilding the shacks here as emergency services have noted the presence of latent heat, which could pose a fire risk because many of the residents use paraffin.”
Manale said the fire had put pressure on all parties to come to a quicker solution on the relocation of the residents.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura said the tragedy was regrettable considering the loss of life and the large number of families left with nothing during the cold weather.
“The situation is tragic. Women and children have been left destitute. We’re going to work on immediately bringing tents so they can have a place to sleep and something to eat for the night.”
The premier said a major challenge was that many residents were reluctant to speak up as they were foreign nationals and in the country illegally.
“But we’re not here to deal with who should be here and who shouldn’t. We’re going to try to break down that barrier so that the people can receive assistance,” he said. The SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) urged authorities to respond swiftly to the victims' plight. Spokesman Jabu Mahlangu said the next city government after the August 3 elections should prioritise housing and spare no effort to end the deaths of the poor.
The prime Plastic View property was among the land parcels to be auctioned by the city a year ago.
However, the high court in Pretoria found that auctioning off the property without a plan to relocate the people living there would cause them irreparable harm.
It said it would not be feasible to negotiate a relocation plan once the land had been sold, as the new owner would want to take occupation and develop it immediately after the sale had gone through.
A suitable place was identified along Garstfontein Road, east of the Woodlands Boulevard, although critics feel relocating the residents there would just create another undesirable settlement.
Pretoria News