A 66-year-old man died on Sunday evening in a shack fire that left over 20 families in Athlone homeless.
People from the Hadji Ebrahim informal settlement in Belgravia say the fire started at the shack of the deceased oupa, whose 15-year-old daughter lived with him.
Resident Debbie Phillips, 60, says: “I have 10 grandchildren and we are left only with the clothes we are wearing.
“I have been on the housing waiting list for the past 28 years and I have not received a house yet. People who have been waiting for 10 years are staying in government houses.”
Most families in the informal settlement are unemployed.
They say it will be difficult for them to rebuild their shacks as the City of Cape Town no longer provides building materials to fire victims unless the fire is declared a disaster.
When the Daily Voice arrived in the area children and adults were scrambling for items among the rubble.
Elizabeth Mutlanyana, 40, said they were already told that they will not receive any material.
“Someone from the municipality told us. Where will we sleep? How will we rebuild? They do not care. The zincs we have are old and damaged.”
Jermaine Carelse, spokesperson for City Fire and Rescue Service, said they were called out just after 9pm on Sunday: “Numerous informal structures were destroyed leaving many displaced. One adult male sustained fatal burn wounds.”
Police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said a death inquest has been opened for investigation: “The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.”