AMONG THE RUINS
LIFE GOES ON: A fire destroyed several shacks at the Moeggesukkel informal settlement in Uitenhage on Monday night, leaving 24 residents without shelter. They spent the night in a nearby community hall. Ruwaan Windvogel, 14, sits in front his aunt’s burnt shack.
ALREADY battling housing woes, the beleaguered residents of impoverished Moeggesukkel were on Monday night dealt a further blow as a blaze swept through the Uitenhage informal settlement, destroying 15 homes.
Homeless residents are now left with the task of picking up the pieces.
According to resident Judy George, the fire was allegedly triggered by a man who was preparing his supper in a potjie pot outside his shack.
“[He] was making himself rice and potatoes on a fire; the wind was blowing and then the fire started,” George said.
George and her family escaped from their home but the blaze razed their dwelling and destroyed everything inside it except a small stove.
A devastated George said: “Everything is gone . . . we were only able to save the gas stove.
“We want houses [here] because the shacks are going to burn again.”
Moeggesukkel community leader Andrew February said the lack of running water played a major role in the fire spreading.
“Another problem is the [solitary] tap. When the fire started at the first house, people tried to stop it but it took them half an hour to fill up one bucket of water. Afterwards there was no water.
“There is only one tap that [up to] 1 000 people must use.”
According to Ward 53 committee member Harriet Kondile, Moeggesukkel has been a developing area since 2013 when a group of long-time residents moved to the housing development Rosedale Phase 1, informally known as Red Tile.
However, an estimated 37 people remained in the informal settlement with hopes that they too would be moving to their new homes in Rosedale Phase 2.
“The shack area, according to the municipal [council], is not part of phase 2 . . . there is no development for them,” Kondile said.
At present, 25 people are being housed in a Ward 50 community hall.
Ward 50 councillor Lunga Nombexeza was yesterday working with ward committee members to ensure the affected group received shelter and food.
“Everything is good here. They make sure there is food for us. They also have clothes for those who need them,” Moeggesukkel resident Graham Berdou, who is now living at the shelter, said.
Another Moeggesukkel resident, who did not want to be named, said: “The ANC played a big part in helping us. They had a meeting on the night and are still assisting us.”
Ward 50 secretary Thandeka Teyise said various departments like Social Development and the SA Social Security Agency had visited the settlement, providing food parcels.
“We managed to get child welfare, [and] the NGO that is based here in Ward 50, Kwa-Langa isQaqambe, [has been] cooking here,” Teyise said.
Nelson Mandela Bay municipality spokesman Kupido Baron said shortly after the fire had been reported a team of firemen had been dispatched.
“While the fire was being extinguished other areas were being doused with buckets of water to stop further spreading,” he said.
“The municipal disaster management unit assisted the fire victims with blankets, mattresses and water. “The fire’s cause is still unknown.” Baron was unable to comment on whether phase two was going ahead or if those affected would receive more permanent housing. – Additional reporting by Athena O’Reilly