Cape Town fires: Human Settlements Dept steps in to assist victims

JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Human Settlements has activated its teams to assist families affected by the recent shack fires in Cape Town.

More than 400 informal structures in townships including Langa, Masiphumelele, Nomzamo and Dunoon have been destroyed by fire over the past two weeks.

Thousands of people have been left without shelter.

The department says emergency housing teams have attended to affected areas to conduct verifications and prepare for interventions.

On Monday, Simelane and her deputy will oversee the handover of building materials to those affected.

Visiting the affected areas in Cape Town last week - Simelane raised concerns about some of the spots where their structures are built.

"We are also looking into a long-term solution. You know some of the problems for example like fire blocking - it’s not relatively easy for the province or the city to do that because of how congested the space is"

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