Ward 34 shack fire victims were delighted after they received new building material on Monday 9 June after their shacks were destroyed a few months ago.
At least 78 people gathered at Browns Farm Community Hall to collect their building material.
The fires occurred in two separate areas. The first broke out at Siyahlala informal settlement on Thursday 6 February. A total of 16 shacks were affected and 33 people displaced.
The second incident occurred at Ezihagwini informal settlement on Wednesday 23 April. Another 16 shacks destroyed, one person died and 45 people were left homeless.
Councillor Melikhaya Gadeni said the material was distributed by the national Department of Human Settlement. He said the aim is to assist those who were affected by the fires in his ward.
“According to our constitution, everyone has a right to a shelter. This is what we are doing by trying to bring back the dignity of our people. As leaders, we can’t fold our arms when some of us are in trouble. We know this is not enough, but this is a starter pack for them to extend or rebuild their shacks,” said Gadeni and urged the community to stay alert during the cold weather. He appealed to them to ensure that they switch off all the electricity appliances and not to go stop with burning braziers at night.
One of the beneficiaries Nosabelo Mbekeni from praised the councillor, saying she didn’t expect that she would receive the material.
“I didn’t expect anything. I thought they were fooling us when they said we must write down our names. But, since Gadeni came into the office there have been some changes in the ward. Our streets are clean, even streetlights are working,” said Mbekeni, adding that she will extend her shack with the material.
