Your new shacks are coming down too‚ Hout Bay fire victims told

Residents of Imizamo Yethu who have started rebuilding after their homes were burned down on Saturday are set to lose their new abodes as well.

Cape Town deputy mayor Ian Neilson said on Thursday said rebuilding had begun in the Hout Bay township in violation of an agreement between the three spheres of government and community leaders and organisations.

The delay in rebuilding was to allow clearing of the mountainside where 4,000 shacks were destroyed and “standard plots to be demarcated so that emergency kits can be disbursed on Monday when rebuilding commences”.

• Cape Town shelters fire victims in halls and tentsThe City of Cape Town is still tallying the numbers after fires over the weekend left 10 people dead.

Said Neilson: “Any building that takes place before the plots are marked out will jeopardise the interests of the affected residents who are conforming with the agreed process‚ as individuals could take up much larger space than is fair and new residents from outside the settlement could take up space meant for others.”

•  In Pictures: Fire destroys numerous homes in Hout BayMany homes have been destroyed after a fire broke out last night in Mandela Park in Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay.

City council law enforcement officers would dismantle all new structures before Monday‚ he said.

“There are currently four community facilities and two tents available for shelter‚ which are not yet fully occupied. All residents who need temporary shelter will be encouraged to make use of these facilities until Monday.”

- TMG Digital/The Times