Search dogs looked for bodies on Friday in a Johannesburg building that went up in flames killing dozens and forcing South Africa to confront an illegal housing “crisis”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said it was “a wake-up call for us to begin to address the situation of housing in the inner cities” as he visited the site late on Thursday.Also receive offers from The Africa ReportThe building, located in an economically depressed, crime-ridden area, was owned by the municipality and listed as a heritage site.
About 200 families were thought to be living at the premises at the time of the fire, he said. Authorities estimated that more than “80 shacks” were set up inside.Also receive offers from The Africa ReportThe case is not isolated. Illegal occupation of abandoned buildings in downtown Johannesburg, which slumped into decay and decline in the 1990s, is widespread.
Entire blocks were left empty. Hotels simply bricked over their doors without even bothering to auction off the contents.“Many of these abandoned buildings are controlled by gangs who rent out the space,” said Mervyn Cirota, a provincial councillor in Johannesburg’s Gauteng province from the opposition Democratic Alliance party.
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