Three facilities were secured around Johannesburg to accommodate the hundreds of people who survived an inferno which killed more than 70 people at a building in the CBD on Thursday morning.
Ward councillor in the area where Usindiso Building is situated, Mongameli Mnyameni said the some of the survivors, who are foreign nationals, were reluctant to be taken to the shelters.
“Yesterday (Thursday) we managed to get three places for the people who survived, the victims. They were taken to Bez Valley recreation centre, Hillbrow Khaya shelter, and also Impilo shelter in Fairview,” the African National Congress councillor, Mnyameni, said speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Friday morning.
“I think there are plus or minus 150 people that were relocated there. They are there, they slept there yesterday, at least they managed to get a shelter over their heads,” he said.
“However, some, few of them, did not want to go to the shelters. They resisted. Maybe the reason is that they were sceptical in terms of them being foreign nationals and they thought maybe they would be deported or arrested. We spoke to them, to tell that they must feel free, the city (Joburg) is a caring city which puts people’s lives first, nobody would be arrested and they would be treated the same as South Africans. Unfortunately, they did not want to go,” said Mnyameni.
On Thursday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa postponed a television address to the nation and visited the scene at Marshalltown in downtown Joburg where a fire broke out in a "hijacked" building that at last count, claimed the lives of 74 residents.
Ramaphosa was briefed by City of Joburg officials on the situation before touring the ruins of the hijacked building.
Ramaphosa was expected to address the nation on the outcomes of the outcomes of the 15th BRICS Summit and on the outcome of the panel investigation into the docking of the Lady R vessel in South Africa.
Angela Rivers, the chairperson of the Joburg Property Owners and Managers Association, has told news broadcaster eNCA that there were at least 57 hijacked buildings in the Joburg inner city.
IOL