The problem is ‘a lack of political will to give shack dwellers access to services and land’, with ‘hazards seen as tools for political point-scoring’.
Shack fires caused by unsafe heating methods are an unavoidable symptom of a greater social ill, a lobby group has said.
This as icy temperatures are expected to continue around the country.
Yesterday, at least one person died in Cape Town after fires spread through various informal settlements, and 40 shacks were destroyed in Johannesburg. But the yearly shack fire phenomenon was not merely about lack of access to electricity, according to shack dwellers’ lobby group Abahlali baseMjondolo. Continue reading