Home >> News / Top news

Illegal occupants of dilapidated Marlboro building out in the cold

Natasha Bezuidenhout

Hundreds of families who were left homeless after their belongings went up in flames in Marlboro said they received no aid from government.

The residents who illegally built shacks inside the dilapidated building have lost everything including ID documents.
Mpho Mulaudzi, who is heavily pregnant at nine months, said government believed the building was housing foreigners hence their plight had been ignored.
“The only people who tried to assist us were the officials from the Congress of the People (Cope). They brought food and clothing. But it’s useless because we can’t even cook because the pots were destroyed in the fire.”
Percy Morokane, Johannesburg Emergency Management services spokesman said it was unclear how the fire started on Monday.
“Preliminary investigations show that the cause of the fire could be due to an open flame such as a candle or paraffin stove.”  he said. More than 180 shacks and 750 people lived in the building.
Some residents who were from Natal, Bloemfontein and the Eastern Cape have occupied the building since 2005.
“I have applied for housing and was placed on a waiting list, but now I have lost all the documentation including my ID and my C-form (a form that shows you are on a waiting list for an RDP house),” said Dikeledi Marope, now homeless.
Families with young children and several pregnant women were left to sleep on the pavement.
When the newspaper visited the sight there was still smoke billowing in the sky and a pungent odour.
Virgil James, City of Johannesburg spokesman said that people’s health and safety was very important.
“As the city council we will see that no by-laws have been broken and that there is some sort of relief, where we can help.”
natashab@caxton.co.za

Stories related to:
Emergency Management Services
Fire in Marlboro
Homeless people in Marlboro