Cape Town – Thousands of Masiphumelele residents made homeless and destitute by fire will have to spend Christmas in temporary accommodation.
Thousands of people lost everything when a massive fire swept through a part of an informal settlement last week Thursday, which razed more than 1,000 homes.
The City of Cape Town had hoped to clear the affected area within two days, but the devastation was just too great to make that happen.
Last week, Mayor Dan Plato requested that the area be declared a disaster area in order to access national government funds needed to supply residents with building supplies.
Plato’s spokesperson, Lyndon Khan, on Monday said that crews were working as fast as they could.
“Kits can begin to be distributed once the funding comes through and all necessary site reestablishment has taken place. This will not happen overnight as it is a very complex and intricate process,” said Khan.
