Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said the national disaster management centre stood ready to assist following the deadly fire at a hijacked building in Johannesburg that claimed 74 lives on Thursday morning.
Speaking at the post-Cabinet briefing, Ntshavheni said the Cabinet has sent condolences to the families and friends of the people who died from a building that was burned down in Marshalltown, Johannesburg.
She also said the government had a disaster management centre at the national government, in provinces and municipalities.
“We have got first responders, firefighters and medical rescue teams who are on the ground doing their work with the City of Johannesburg and the province.
“If there is a need of reinforcement from the national disaster management centre, such assistance is offered.”
Ntshavheni said President Cyril Ramaphosa was given rolling updates on the situation.
“For now it is within the realm of the local government and the provincial government of Gauteng.
“We continue to work as an integrated government to make sure we respond to such incidents,” she added.
Ntshavheni said they did not want to pre-empt the cause of the fire.
“We will allow the investigation from relevant authorities to take place and issue us with a report and take actions thereafter,” she said.
The minister indicated that the fact the building was hijacked, did not change much.
“There are lives lost. There will be a report provided to us.”
However, Ntshavheni noted that in hijacked buildings, there would be no supply of electricity and water.
“We don’t want to speculate on the cause of the fire,” she said.
The majority of people in the hijacked buildings were not South Africans and they were not in the country legally, Ntshavheni said, when dismissing a suggestion that the fire was indication of a housing problem in the country.
“The government can’t provide housing to illegal immigrants. The Minister Human Settlements works with municipalities and provinces to provide housing for all South Africans.”
She also indicated that buildings in the cities were the responsibility of metros and provinces.
Ntshavheni said the national government could support the Human Settlement Department, Cogta, Home Affairs Department and police to support the city in the efforts to deal with hijacked buildings, which were dens of crime.
Cape Times