375 people displaced after fire destroys their shacks

Some residents of Mahlangu informal settlement in Olievenhoutbosch, Centurion, have been left homeless after their shacks were gutted by fire on Saturday evening.

About 150 shacks burnt down, leaving 375 residents displaced and some losing their valuables.

Ash, corrugated iron, rubble and smoke greet you as you approach the area as firefighters try to put out what is left of the settlement.

Residents were gathered in groups as they watched what used to be their homes turn into ash.

The cause of the blaze is unknown but residents say the fire started in one of the shacks. 

“That is when it spread to other shacks and because we have built so close to each other, gas cylinders started busting. Our shacks don’t have space from each other, so that is why we are where we are,” Christina Neile said. 

“We have lost our food, clothes, money and even passports,” the 47-year-old woman said. 

Another resident said she was sleeping when she heard people screaming for help and trying to put out the fire.

“I was so confused and we didn’t know what to do, but my first said it was to protect myself. We tried to get water from the dam to put out the fire but it was just too strong and there was nothing we could do. 

“I have lost R400, my passport, clothes and food, and I am left with what I am wearing here,” said the woman who has been living in the area for eight years.   

“I just don’t know what to do, I am hungry and just broken. We need the city to help us save our [corrugated iron], if we leave it here, we will lose it. We need it for when we start rebuilding our homes,” she said. 

The City of Tshwane’s MMC for human settlement Ofentse Madzevatela visited the area, saying three churches will accomodate the victims for 48 hours. 

“Others are complaining that they have lost their passports as well as IDs, so we will also be talking to the department of home affairs and other departments to see how they can come to the ground to assist. 

“For now, we are still waiting for results from the emergency services to determine what caused the fire but from what we are hearing from some of the people is that a gas cylinder from one of the shacks could be part of the reason the fire started.”

He said the city now had about 575 informal settlements and every year they identified 20 to see if they could be developed or if people should be relocated.

“This informal settlement is one of those that many metros such as ours are at the centre where people come here for work opportunities, it is a bit of a struggle because our Housing Act says that those who are benefiting from our grants must be South Africans, so this one has 90% foreigners, so how do we start responding?

“One of the things that we are doing is that in the city we are building what we call social housing rental, people can pay as little as R750 for a two-bedroom house or apartment, but also they must be able to pay rent in such cases,” he said.

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